[StBernard] Boasso to run for governor's office

[Westley Annis]

Boasso to run for governor's office
Vitter says he will support Jindal
Sarah Yokubaitis
Posted: 2/6/07
State Sen. Walter Boasso, R-Arabi, officially announced Monday he will enter
the governor's race.

"I'm tired of seeing people leaving our state. I'm either going to be the
guy in charge to straighten it out or move on with my life like everyone
else," Boasso said to The Daily Reveille. "Louisiana is on its knees. Party
politics are not going to help. It's going to take someone who has the
courage to make the hard decisions and the right decisions and not worry
about getting re-elected."

Boasso joins U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-Dist. 1, as the second Republican
hoping to displace incumbent Democrat Gov. Kathleen Blanco. According to the
Associated Press, other potential candidates include Democrat Public Service
Commissioner Foster Campbell, former state Democratic Party Chairman and CEO
of The Shaw Group Jim Bernhard and U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Dist. 3.

Currently, the only candidates who have officially announced are Blanco,
Jindal, Boasso and Libertarian T. Lee Horne, with more candidates expected
to enter the race in coming weeks. The primary election will be Oct. 20 with
a runoff Nov. 17.

Hours after Boasso's announcement, U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., endorsed
Jindal's gubernatorial candidacy.

"All of us face extraordinary challenges in Louisiana. This is particularly
true because of hurricanes Rita and Katrina," Vitter said in a statement.
"At the same time we face extraordinary opportunities to bring needed reform
and positive change to our state. Legislative term limits, which take effect
this year, make that more possible than ever before. Both these challenges
and these opportunities demand that we have strong, visionary leadership in
the governor's office. He would provide the positive leadership for reform
and change that we need."

A January poll by Southern Media & Opinion Research, a Baton Rouge-based
private polling company, shows Jindal leading by 59 percent to Blanco's 35
percent in a hypothetical two-person race.

Former Blanco aide and mass communication professor Bob Mann predicted
Jindal would win if the election ran today.

"Just by what I'm seeing in the polls, I'd say Bobby Jindal. He's got an
enormous lead and an incredible percentage of the white vote locked up," he
said. "It's just a question of whether he can hold onto that lead. Someone
like Boasso might be able to hurt Jindal if he comes after him instead of
attacking the governor. But because Jindal has such a large lead raising
money and because of the poll situation, I think that Jindal's probably a
pretty good bet."

Mann said Boasso's entrance could prove to have little impact on the
governor's race.

"It's yet to see if he can be a strong candidate," Mann said. "He's only
known in a small part of the state, and his district isn't what it used to
be. It's a big question whether someone like him can compete stateside. A
lot of it will have to do how much money he can raise."

Some Democrats hoped former U.S. Senator John Breaux, D-La., would run for
governor, but Breaux recently announced he is holding a fundraiser Wednesday
for Blanco, along with former Jindal opponent and U.S. Rep. Chris John,
D-Dist. 1. John had also been rumored to make a run for the governor's
mansion.

Mann, who served as Breaux's communications director prior to working for
Blanco, said he is doubtful Breaux will run for governor in 2007 or 2011.

"He would be 68 in the next election. That's not generally the age at which
people look to start a campaign like that," Mann said.

Mann said Jindal's prior experience against Blanco gives him an advantage
over other Republicans.

"He's not going to make the same mistakes again," he said.


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Contact Sarah Yokubaitis at syokubaitis at lsureveille.com