BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- The Louisiana Republican Party may sanction more than two dozen prominent Republicans endorsing incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu over challenger John Kennedy in the Nov. 4 election.

After Saturday's quarterly meeting of the Republican State Central Committee, state GOP Chairman Roger Villere said several party members want to adopt some formal mechanism to censure GOP officials who break with the party's candidate in a race.

But any censure resolution or bylaws change will have to wait until after this year's elections, Villere said.

Several prominent Republicans, including eight parishwide elected officials from Lafourche, St. Tammany, Plaquemines, Jefferson and St. John the Baptist parishes -- are supporting Landrieu over Kennedy.

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain has appeared in a Landrieu television commercial.

Kennedy, the state treasurer, lives in St. Tammany Parish, where at least four major GOP officials have backed his opponent. Republican Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand came out for Landrieu on Friday as she seeks a third term.

Villere said central committee members previously have adopted censure resolutions of GOP officials who backed Democrats, but they have lacked muscle. He did not say what sanctions may be considered, but party leaders "don't want this to develop into a trend."

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)