Last minute Surprises in the Governors Race, Harry Lee, Lawsuits and More
Can Jindal Win in the Primary? The debate continues to grow about whether or not Bobby Jindal can win in the primary. Conventional wisdom holds that he will – an idea pushed heavily by his opponents who are hoping to capitalize on missed expectations should he be kept below 50% and downplayed by the Jindal folks who are planning on a runoff but can’t convince anyone to listen. Boasso has hit Jindal the hardest which has benefited Campbell and Georges the most. Rumors are circulating that there are more attacks on the way, and they are likely to come, but ironically whoever “does” the hitting may just be sacrificing himself for one of the other two non-Jindal candidates. The race for second place is hotly contested, and we likely won’t know who will win the lottery for the #2 position until after the polls close. But what we do know is that whoever does come in second faces an uphill battle the rest of the way to the top. Conventional wisdom also holds that it will be more difficult for Jindal to win in the runoff. And as usual, conventional wisdom is wrong. While Jindal may have the organizational and financial strength of an incumbent he is not the actual incumbent and therefore the election on October 20th isn’t a referendum on Bobby Jindal. The much more difficult task will be to cobble together the Georges-Campbell-Boasso voters into a coalition that is above 50%. Jindal may possibly win in the primary, but even if he doesn’t, he’s still the heavy favorite in November. (LPR staff editorial) Kennedy: The Persistent Candidate Even though Republican Treasurer John Kennedy is facing no opposition and is thus re-elected, his campaign finance report reads like one belonging to a pol under heavy fire. He has an astounding $367,000 media buy in escrow and there’s presently a new ad up in strategic markets. Kennedy also dropped roughly $41,000 on production costs last month – after qualifying was over. He is spending thousands on ... (subscribe to read more - FREE 7 day trial) Stonecipher on Election ‘07 Elliot Stonecipher, a Shreveport demographer and political analyst, gave an interesting presentation this week at a forum sponsored by the Independent Weekly in Lafayette. Among his observations: --- Gov. Kathleen Blanco is doing "everything she can" to help state Sen. Walter Boasso, a fellow Dem, make the runoff in the governor’s race. This would be an odd pairing, especially since the two were mortal enemies during recent legislative sessions. At one point, Blanco’s team was preparing for the fact that Boasso, formerly a Republican, would become a serious challenger to her re-election, which is no more. --- New Orleans businessman John Georges, an independent, could edge Boasso out for the number two spot just on the sheer amount of cash ($10 million or so) he's pouring into the contest and in the streets to get out the African-American vote. (subscribe to read more - FREE 7 day trial) Dems Working to Turn Out Base Who will eventually garner support from African-American voters? It’s a huge question approaching the Oct. 20 gubernatorial election, and by all indications, it could very well be split. The NAACP has come out in favor of ... (subscribe to read more - FREE 7 day trial) The Next Hit on Jindal Based on background interviews with sources close to every gubernatorial campaign, the last few weeks of the primary isn’t likely to produce any skeletons in frontrunner Jindal’s closet. But the attacks will likely come ... (subscribe to read more - FREE 7 day trial) Rumor Mill Report: Wildlife Secretary in Play With Bryant Hammett, a Democrat from Ferriday, running for a Senate seat and the position of secretary of Wildlife and Fisheries wide open, behind-the-scenes lobbying has kicked off. ... (subscribe to read more - FREE 7 day trial) Constitutional Amendment Has Strings The first constitutional amendment on the Oct. 20 ballot will ask you whether supplement pay for full-time police officers and firemen should receive greater protection from changes by lawmakers. Under the proposal, the state salary supplement can never be ... (subscribe to read more - FREE 7 day trial) Political Groups Still Plugging Away (subscribe to read more - FREE 7 day trial) Lee’s Funeral Will be Spectacle On Monday, Harry Lee passed away after battling leukemia. His death was a major event in the metropolitan New Orleans area dominating news coverage. Lee was a huge figure on the political scene for 27 years. He was a beloved political leader who had supporters across party aisles. Lee was a conservative law and order Democrat who also had friends in the Republican Party. Lee endorsed Mike Foster for Governor in 1995 and earlier this year endorsed Bobby Jindal for Governor. In fact, the Jefferson Parish Republican Party recently ... (subscribe to read more - FREE 7 day trial) Clinton Wanted to Attend Former President Bill Clinton told former U.S. Senator John Breaux that he respected Lee so much that he wanted to attend the funeral services, but ... (subscribe to read more - FREE 7 day trial) Sheriff’s Race Will be Crowded With the passing of Harry Lee, the qualifying for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s race was reopened. Joining Harahan Police Chief Peter Dale in the race is State Senator Art Lentini of Kenner and former Kenner Police Chief Nick Congemi. The favorite in the race right now is ... (subscribe to read more - FREE 7 day trial) Dale Files Lawsuit to Halt Election Peter Dale has filed a lawsuit in Baton Rouge District Court challenging the legality of reopening qualifying after the death of Lee. Dale notes that this is not done if a candidate withdraws from the race and is not the procedure in any other state in the nation. Dale believes that ... (subscribe to read more - FREE 7 day trial) (Events: email for consideration of your event for future editions) Featured Events: Northshore Republican Clubs Sponsor Legislative Forum On Wednesday October 10, the GOP Northshore clubs will host the second in their series of three 2007 election forums. This one will feature Republican candidates participating in local legislative elections, which are particularly interesting and competitive in this term limited year. All Republicans running for the following offices have been invited: State Senate District 1—A.G. Crowe, Joey DiFatta, State Senate District 6—Julie Quinn, Doug Johnson, Monica Monica, State Senate District 11—Jack Donahue, Ace LeBleu, Pete Schneider, State Representative District 74—Adam Ackel, Nick Chetta, Scott Simon, State Representative District 76—Lee Balinas, Ray Canada, Kevin Pearson, and Mark Sigur, and State Representative District 77—Colleen Hawley, John Schroder. Each participant in the forum will make a presentation and then be available to answer questions from audience members. The forum will take place at Pinewood Country Club in Slidell. The social starts at 6 p.m. and the dinner begins at 7 p.m. To RSVP, contact Mike Stevens at #985-626-0815.The Louisiana Political Report provides its readers with an insider's perspective of Louisiana politics. It's specifically designed to provide you with an unbiased peek at what is really going on behind the scenes.
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