Louisiana’s gubernatorial race, which fell almost dormant during the just-completed legislative session, now takes center stage in a state famous for its political theater.
“The session sucked the air out of everything,” Pearson Cross, a political scientist at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, tells The News Star of Monroe. “That changes today.”
Three Republicans—Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle, Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne and front-runner U.S. Sen. David Vitter—and Democratic state Rep. John Bel Edwards of Amite make up the announced field of major candidates.
All are looking up for the moment at Vitter, who has the most name recognition, is flush with cash and has led all early polls. But they believe—or hope—Vitter may be vulnerable in what almost certainly will be a runoff between the top two candidates.
“This race is about getting into the runoff with Sen. Vitter,” Cross says. “The real race is for second in the primary.”
Angelle and Dardenne admit Vitter has an early lead, but each believes he can beat the senator in a runoff among Republicans. That goes for Edwards, too, even though Louisiana’s last statewide elected Democrat, former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, was ousted as the lone holdout by Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy last fall.
“At the end of the day I understand there are problems with the Democratic Party here, but (Gov.) Bobby Jindal and others have created even more problems for the Republican Party,” Edwards says.
“Certainly (Vitter) is ahead, but he’s polling in the 30s with the top name recognition and all of the money in the world,” Dardenne says. “This is far from over.”
Vitter says he’s not interested in handicapping the field.
“I don’t waste my time focusing on my opponents,” he says. “I’m focused on running an aggressive campaign and doing what we need to do as a state to put us in a position to prosper.”
