With Congressman Charles Boustany, a Lafayette Republican, apparently abandoning the 3rd District to run for the U.S. Senate in 2016, a long and complicated line of potential successors is forming up.
The latest name to surface belongs to state Rep. Stuart Bishop, also a Lafayette Republican, who has the personal finances to jumpstart a media-based campaign. Bishop said he hasn’t made up his mind, but is being encouraged to run by voters in the district and his donor base.
Should he run, it would partly be a race of legislators and former legislators. Two other outgoing lawmakers, Rep. Brett Geymann of Lake Charles, who has already started campaigning, and Sen. Elbert Guillory of Opelousas, who is merely flirting at this point, are both part of the mix. Both are Republicans.
Lafayette Parish School Board member Erick Knezek is meeting with supporters; he looks to be a candidate in the developing race. Greg Ellison, the general manager of Kitty Hawk Energy, appears to be in the beginning stages of a potential run as well.
Names Float In, Out Of Senate Race
With U.S. Sen. David Vitter expected not to seek re-election in 2016, there’s been a rush of names put forward as politicos try to outmaneuver each other before the race begins in earnest.
The latest news comes from Congressman John Fleming, who officially announced via a web video, and state Rep. Paul Hollis, who said he’s thinking about running.
Calling himself a “passionate conservative,” Fleming, a Republican from Minden, is already staking out a position to the far right with criticisms of President Barack Obama and the GOP establishment.
“But there is more blame to go around,” Fleming said in his announcement video. “We have too many in Washington who are all too willing to just go along with the status quo and not make any waves.”
Hollis, a Covington Republican who was re-elected to another term in the Louisiana Legislature this fall, said he has received an outpouring of encouragement from neighbors and friends.
“With the growing threat of ISIS abroad and at home, lackluster economic growth, and continued issues with Obamacare and other failed big government programs, we need a proven conservative as our next U.S. senator who won’t back down, won’t make excuses, and won’t cave in under pressure,” he said.
Also expected to formally announce his bid soon is Republican Congressman Charles Boustany of Lafayette. He has already staffed up for the race and has told donors he intends to run.
Said to be looking at the possibility as well are Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle, who lost his campaign for governor this year; retired Air Force Col. Rob Maness, who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2014; and state Treasurer John Kennedy. All are Republicans.
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who has been leading the speculation on the Democratic side of the developing field, told LaPolitics that he would not be a candidate.
Caroline Fayard, another Democrat from New Orleans who ran for lieutenant governor in 2010, is making the usual rounds, though, and looks to be an early contender.
Recap Of Super PAC Impact
The super PAC that received the least amount of attention this cycle spent the most on election day in the governor’s race.
According to campaign finance reports filed with the state Ethics Administration, Louisiana Families First spent $86,000 on Nov. 21, with the bulk of the money going into traditional GOTV (Get Out The Vote) efforts.
Payments of $20,000 each for “voter outreach” were paid to the New Orleans chapter of the Service Employees International Union and G&G Leasing of Shreveport. Another $23,000 went into automated phone calls.
The Families First PAC was set up and run by term limited state Sen. Ben Nevers, D-Bogalusa, to support the gubernatorial campaign of state Rep. John Bel Edwards.
Gov.-elect Edwards named Nevers his chief of staff the week after the runoff.
In comparison, the Fund For Louisiana’s Future, which was established to back U.S. Sen. David Vitter, spent $12,700 on Election Day; and the anti-Vitter GUMBO PAC spent $41,000, both mostly on TV.
As for the candidates, Edwards spent $200,000 on Election Day while Vitter spent $26,500.
According to the Center for Public Integrity, there were 10 different outside groups, like political action committees and super PACs, that sought to influence the race for governor this year. Compared to the elections held in other states in 2015, none had as many outside players as Louisiana’s race for governor.
Collectively, the groups spent $9.8 million on TV, out of $20 million overall, including expenditures from the candidates.
Super PACs are different from PACs in that they’re allowed to raise unlimited amounts of money thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court decision.
Edwards Press Secretary To Fly Solo
Mary-Patricia Wray, fresh off a victory lap in the governor’s race, tells LaPolitics she will soon be returning to her lobbying and consulting firm, Top Drawer Strategies. That means that Wray, who was the press secretary and communications director for Rep. John Bel Edwards’ gubernatorial campaign, will be running her own shop rather than joining the new administration.
She’s also the communications director for the Edwards transition team.
For his incoming administration, Edwards has selected Richard Carbo as his new communications director. An Alexandria native, Carbo worked for former Gov. Kathleen Blanco and former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu.
Presidential Politics Pick Up In La.
The quest for Louisiana’s eight electoral college votes is in full swing, with the state’s presidential primary just a few months away.
Even though the state traditionally gets overlooked by major candidates in presidential elections, the next few months could represent a minor shift in interest by the campaigns for a variety of reasons.
The latest news comes from the Republican side of the big race, with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and former Gov. Jeb Bush, both of Florida, arriving in the Bayou State this week to raise money and shore up their Louisiana operations.
Rubio’s events are scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 2. They start with a breakfast reception in Lafayette and a luncheon later in New Orleans. Hosts include such notable names as West Feliciana Parish President Kevin Couhig; Philip Ellender, president of Koch Industries’ government affairs division; attorney Hank Perret; and real estate developer Mike Wampold.
On Monday, Dec. 7, Bush’s campaign will be in New Orleans for a fundraiser hosted by former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush.
Bush also announced that Jason Hebert and Scott Hobbs of the Baton Rouge-based Political Firm will serve as his state political advisers. His steering committee includes St. Tammany Parish President Pat Brister; state Sen. Conrad Appel, R-Metairie; state Rep. Nancy Landry, R-Lafayette; and former state Elections Commissioner Suzie Terrell.
Given the large size of the GOP field, Louisiana can expect more attention from the candidates than in the past, said Roger Villere, chairman of the state Republican Party. “I’ve had a couple of other candidates call and ask recently for names of people to do statewide and regional work,” said Villere. “I think they are looking at Louisiana as part of that SEC Tuesday, because whoever comes out of that with a strong position could be moving on.”
Louisiana’s presidential primary is slated for March 5. But on the preceding Tuesday, March 1, several states in the Southeastern Conference, a collegiate athletic group, will host primaries; these include Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia.
“We may have a leader by then, but a lot of campaigns are coupling us all together and viewing us as one group,” said Villere.
That goes for fundraising as well. Louisiana is not being overlooked in that regard. Jeb Bush’s campaign, for example, has already named three fundraising chairs who are familiar names in Louisiana campaign finance reports: Joe Canizaro, Boysie Bollinger and James Davison.
On the Democratic side of the developing race, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Louisiana and raised money back in September, while U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont did the same in July.
Andrew Tuozzolo, a Democratic operative from New Orleans, and the managing partner of WIN Partners, expects both will be back in the Bayou State very soon.
Whichever candidate does best in the deep south, particularly with African-American voters in places like Louisiana, could be positioned to wrap up the party nomination quickly, Tuozzolo said. “They had rallies earlier than usual here because Louisiana is beginning to represent an important state in this race,” he added. “If a candidate can win here, then maybe that success can be patterned in other states.”
A name that will not be on Louisiana’s presidential primary ballot is that of Gov. Bobby Jindal, who announced in mid-November that he was abandoning his national campaign. Jindal hasn’t yet said whom he would support for president.
The final day to register to vote in the March 5 primary is Feb. 3. The one-week early voting period begins on Feb. 20.
For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Jeremy Alford on Twitter @LaPoliticsNow.
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