Billy Tauzin, III, R-LA, Faces Five Opponents in Bid to Replace Father

Baton Rouge, LA, Morning Advocate ^ | 10-15-04 | Simpson, Doug, AP

[Theodore R.]

Tauzin faces five opponents in bid to replace father

By DOUG SIMPSON Associated Press writer

HOUMA -- Some voters affectionately call him "Little Billy." A political rival calls him simply, "That Boy."

Billy Tauzin III's name is as famous as any other in south Louisiana politics, familiar to the oilmen, shrimp fishermen and sugar cane farmers of Cajun towns like Houma and New Iberia. They know Tauzin's father, U.S. Rep. Billy Tauzin Jr., a former oil rig worker who won a seat in Congress in 1980, was re-elected 11 times and, as chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, became known as one of Capitol Hill's most powerful men.

That Billy Tauzin will retire when his term expires next year.

His son, 30-year-old Billy Tauzin III, is now campaigning for the same congressional seat, and faces a tougher race than his father ever did. Tauzin is in his first political campaign and has five opponents -- most of them veterans of state politics. Those rivals have connections across Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District, and they can be vocal in their disdain for Tauzin, a newcomer who's less than 10 years out of college.

"I'm just not comfortable with the idea that a 30-year-old boy has had enough life experience," said Republican state Sen. Craig Romero, 50. "I mean, this is the United States Congress -- that boy needs to have had some experience in life."

But the Tauzin name registers with voters. Polls so far show Tauzin with a lead of 10 or more percentage points over Romero and the others. He has the endorsement of the state Republican Party as well as financial support from his father's colleagues in Congress.

Polls also show that none of the candidates is close to getting 50 percent of the vote in the Nov. 2 election. The top two finishers will almost certainly face off in a runoff election on Dec. 4.

Campaign experts consider Romero and Democrat Charlie Melancon, a former state lawmaker, the candidates with the best chance of facing Tauzin in a runoff. Whatever happens, they say, Tauzin can expect a stiff challenge as he tries to keep the family name on Capitol Hill.

"This is one of the first honest-to-goodness, wide-open, tee-it-up congressional races we've had in a long time," said Elliott Stonecipher, a Louisiana-based political consultant.

Louisiana's 3rd District is home to vast sugar cane fields, petrochemical plants along the Mississippi River and thousands of oil and gas jobs linked to offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Tabasco hot sauce is produced here; much of the country's shrimp, oysters and crawfish are caught here.

So far, the six candidates who want to represent the region in Washington are focusing their campaigns on the district's economy, and the future of its big industries: energy, chemicals, seafood and sugar. They agree on the basics: the federal government must pay for projects to stop the erosion of Louisiana's coastline; Louisiana shrimp fishermen need federal help to compete against cheap imported shrimp; sugar growers need help to survive amid stagnant sugar prices.

The candidates are a varied group:

--Democrat Damon Baldone, 39, a lawyer and state representative representing Terrebonne Parish since 2001.

--Democrat Charmaine Caccioppi, 50, a former aide to U.S. Sens. J. Bennett Johnston and Mary Landrieu and an economic development official with the New-Orleans-area chamber of commerce.

--Republican Kevin Chiasson, 56, of Lafourche Parish, a physician.

--Melancon, 57, who spent 12 years as a state representative and was president of the American Sugar Cane League from 1993-2004.

--Romero, a state senator since 1992.

--Tauzin, a Thibodaux Republican, a lobbyist and community relations specialist for BellSouth Corp. until starting his campaign this year.

The race's outcome is considered especially tough to predict because voters here have a strong independent streak. About 61 percent are registered Democrats, yet the district voted solidly for George W. Bush over Al Gore, 52 percent to 45 percent, in the 2000 presidential election.

The Tauzin name could be another key: In interviews around the district, voters said they didn't like the idea of the young candidate stepping into his father's shoes.

"It seems to me that the son is trying to run on his dad's name," said Republican Forest Olivier of Thibodaux, a technician for a pipeline company. "And I don't think his dad's done that much himself."

Others thought Tauzin's background could help the state, because he understands both Louisiana and Capitol Hill.

"Young Billy grew up under such a strong political personality, he has a valuable source of information there," said T.K. Lightfoot, a retired firefighter who lives in Houma. "He's kind of like a kid whose dad is a doctor: He learns a lot and grows up to be a great doctor himself."