[StBernard] Louisiana Governor Election Has Many Faces

[Westley Annis]

Once the fall elections are completed, the race for Governor will begin in earnest. Next fall, all 144 legislative seats, statewide offices and Governor will be on the ballot. Louisiana voters will see plenty of new faces on the ballot because term limits will force many legislators to relinquish their seats. Of course, some will run for other offices, but, nonetheless, it will usher in unprecedented change in Louisiana politics, which, considering our current situation can only be a good thing. 

 

Will voters choose to re-elect Governor Kathleen Blanco or elect a new person to the office? If the election were held today, Blanco would lose. Her current approval rating is only 42%, ranking 45 out of the nation’s 50 governors. Of course, a year is an eternity in politics and anything can happen. Blanco will certainly benefit from having all of the “Road Home” money to allocate to hurricane victims. She can help spur unparalleled growth in Louisiana if the money is allocated correctly. Already there have been many complaints that the funds have been held up in state bureaucracy for way too long, but the closer the funds are distributed to the fall 2007 election, the more it will benefit Blanco.  

 

Who is getting ready to challenge Blanco? Well, one has already started. The first gubernatorial candidate to announce is Independent Tony Gentille has begun advertising on the Internet and has had numerous letters to the editor printed in statewide newspapers. Gentille believes that his non-partisan message, battling the typical Louisiana forces of "politics as usual" will resonate with the voters. Gentille, who works as a supervisor at an oil refinery and has never run for office before, says the response to his Internet advertising has been very positive. 

 

On the Democratic side, Blanco is obviously preparing to run for re-election, but some Democrats still hope that former U.S. Senator John Breaux will surprise everyone by announcing his intention to run. Democratic Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell is eyeing a race.. He hopes to use his message of placing a tax on foreign oil processed in Louisiana as a ticket to the Governor’s mansion. Campbell says such a tax could bring in billions for Louisiana and help the state cover unmet needs such as healthcare, infrastructure and education. The latest hot rumor is that 3rd District Congressman Charlie Melancon (D-Napoleonville) will run for Governor if he wins his re-election campaign this fall. His opponent in the congressional race, State Senator Craig Romero (R-New Iberia), is telling audiences that Melancon harbors greater ambitions and should be defeated. Melancon has been coy about his future plans saying that he will not rule anything out, but some analysts believe he would be a much stronger Democratic candidate than Blanco. 

 

On the GOP side, U.S. Congressman Bobby Jindal (R-Kenner) is seriously looking at another run for Governor. Jindal ran for Governor in 2003 and lost a close race to Kathleen Blanco. He was subsequently elected to the U.S. Congress in 2004 and now faces an easy path to re-election to his house seat. Some powerbrokers in the Louisiana Republican Party are trying to convince Jindal to run for the U.S. Senate against Mary Landrieu in 2008, instead of entering the governor’s race next year. Their view is that Jindal is doing too much good work for the state in Washington D. C. and that Louisiana can ill afford to lose his influence at this critical point. A source close to Jindal confirms that the Congressman is thinking about the Senate race, but is still more likely to run for Governor. Other GOP candidates considering running for Governor next year are New Orleans businessman John Georges, who sources say will spend $5 million of his own money on the race and State Senator Walter Boasso (R-Arabi), who is also independently wealthy and has built up plenty of goodwill with the public for his handling of the levee board reform legislation. 

 

If all of these candidates run, it will be a wide-open and interesting race. Of course, at this point, the two leading candidates are Blanco and Jindal and it may prove to be a re-match of the 2003 race. Recovering from Katrina and Rita will still be the major priority in the next term, so the stakes will be higher than ever. With the media spotlight on Louisiana as it recovers, the interest in the race will be unusually high on the national level. All of these factors, combined with a weakened governor who is vulnerable, make the Governor’s race of 2007 the most important and interesting election in state history. Stay tuned! 


Jeff Crouere is a native of New Orleans, LA and he is the host of a Louisiana based program, “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 8:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and Noon till 2 p.m. weekdays on several Louisiana radio stations. For more information, visit his web site at www.ringsidepolitics.com. E-mail him at jeff at ringsidepolitics.com.