BATON ROUGE, La. — While a year away from Louisiana voters heading to the polls to decide the state's next governor, Senator John Kennedy announced he is giving “serious consideration” to entering the the race.
“I’ve spent my life and career serving the people of Louisiana. Becky and I raised our family here and are so proud to call it home. But we can’t deny that our great state is facing serious challenges. To meet those challenges, Louisiana families deserve a governor who can lead our state and help solve our toughest problems,” Kennedy said in an announcement released Monday.
"Over the last year, Louisianians have asked me time and time again to come home to serve as governor during these difficult times. Becky and I love the people of Louisiana. We’ve always listened to them, so I am giving serious consideration to entering the governor’s race. I’ll be announcing my decision soon.”
Last week, Kennedy easily won re-election to his second term in the Senate.
Meanwhile, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is the only one to formally announce his entry into the race for governor.
Political analyst Clancy DuBos says Kennedy has money in reserve to enter the governor’s race and if he decides to run it could knock other candidates out from entering the race.
“None of the other candidates will admit that right now, but it would be very difficult for any of the Republicans to defeat him,” said DuBos. “ He would be an early favorite and it would unite a lot of Republicans behind him.”
DuBos says if Kennedy decides to enter the race, it would put Republicans in a difficult position with an early endorsement given to Landry.
“That endorsement literally means nothing if Kennedy gets into the race,” DuBos says. “It means less than nothing, and frankly, it doesn’t mean a whole lot anyway to the average voter.”