Crowded LA Governor's Race Could Limit Funds: 5 Democrats, 7 Republicans Enter Race

The Shreveport (LA) Times ^ | 03-02-03 | Hill, John

[Theodore R.]

Crowded governor's race could limit funds More Republican than Democratic candidates enter fray John Hill / Louisiana Gannett News Posted on March 2, 2003 BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana governor's race is up to a dozen serious candidates with Republicans outnumbering Democrats seven to five.

[Theodore R.]

If Republicans don't watch out, they are running the risk of having no Republican in the runoff," Renwick said. "They have so many Republicans, they will divide their vote so much that no one will get into the runoff."

Herein lies the GOP dilemma: an abundance of riches can produce outright poverty for the Republican Party of LA. Two Democrats, Attorney General Ieyoub and someone else, may have the inside track for the LA "general election" this year. Ieyoub seems assured of one election spot by virtue of his black support. I can see an Ieyoub-Ewing race or an Ieyoub-Blanco race. Thus far, I cannot imagine one of the seven Republicans finishing the primary in second place. I have no idea which of the seven would be the strongest, but it is certain that former Governor Treen would be the weakest selection.

[Kuksool]

The LA GOP's talent pool is thin. Plus, the LA GOP is made up of sore losers. Remember the Fletcher & Halloway feud in the LA-05? I suspect the GOP candidates for governor will be more interested in fighting each other than winning the Governor's Mansion.

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

What will probably happen is a scenario reminiscent of the '96 Senate primary. The GOP will panic and coalesce around one candidate to ensure that we don't have an all-RAT general election. I would have voted for Bill Linder, but the thought of a Landrieu/Ieyoub runoff was too disgusting to think about, and I ended up voting for Woody, who then got robbed.

Right now, it's tough to figure who the GOP will eventually go for, but if I had to guess, it'll be either Blossman or Jindal. Personally, I'd say I'm leaning in Blossman or Kyle's direction, because Treen wouldn't stand a chance, and I don't really want Mike Foster's hand-picked successor in Baton Rouge.