Despite Exodus of Treen and Hollis, LA GOP Remains Bitterly Divided

Shreveport, LA, Times ^ | 06-13-03 | Hill, John

[Theodore R.]

GOP rift emerging in race Two Republican gubernatorial candidates withdraw John Hill Posted on June 13, 2003 BATON ROUGE - State Rep. Hunt Downer of Houma picked up the endorsement of former Gov. David Treen as expected Thursday, but an obvious rift in the Republican Party shows there is no GOP cohesiveness developing.

[Theodore R.]

Whether there are 5 or 7 Republican gubernatorial candidates, at this point it makes little difference, with 2 or 3 Democrats still in the lead. A Democrat will run on the issue of the highest rate of unemployment in nine years.

[JohnnyZ]

The four remaining candidates on the GOP side are:

State Rep. Hunt Downer, former Speaker, supported by US Rep. Billy Tauzin and the above-mentioned group. He is/was at 2% in the polls.

Legislative auditor Dan Kyle, who took a hatchet to government corruption during his tenure. He is/was at ~5% in the polls.

Technocrat Bobby Jindal, former head of Louisiana hospitals and universities and Bush admin official. He is reportedly a brilliant innovator; he is also an oddity as an Indian, but is a Catholic convert. He is supported by a large group of LA pols from the middle and right, most notably current Gov. Mike Foster. He is/was at 11% in the polls.

State Senate President John Hainkel. He is/was at 2% in the polls.

Public Service Commissioner Jay Blossman. Trying to position himself as the most conservative candidate, but he has been hit by an investigation of the special perks he and other PSCs accepted from those they regulate. He is/was at 2% in the polls.