The 2019 Governor’s race is in the books and ambitious Republican state leaders are reportedly eyeing a 2023 race that won’t feature a popular incumbent Democrat.
Two prominent statewide elected figures stand out as early frontrunners, one of them is Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser, who tends to stay out of partisan fights, and is highly popular across party lines.
“In a Louisiana where a significant number of voters are going to be Democrats at the end of the day, you would think an appeal to the middle may sell a little better,” says UL Lafayette Poli Sci Professor Pearson Cross.
Nungesser won 68 to 32 over Democratic challenger Willie Jones in the October primary.
Cross says the other man thought to be a top contender is Louisiana’s Attorney General, who is viewed as one of the state’s leading conservatives.
“Jeff Landry is of course considered to be perhaps more conservative than Billy Nungesser, but frankly conservative bona fides work very well as they did for Eddie Rispone,” says Cross.
Cross says that a more conservative reputation would likely give Landry an advantage escaping the Republican primary over Nungesser.
The heavily Republican state is stocked with high caliber candidates who could also quickly turn into serious contenders if they were to join. Cross says we could see a star-studded GOP primary.
“Clearly Sharon Hewitt, Garret Graves, Cameron Henry, Lance Harris, and lots of other people too who we have not thought of right now,” says Cross. “Lots of people could be major players.”
The Professor does not expect Democrats to be competitive in the race, barring special circumstances or a scandal like the kind that plagued David Vitter in the 2015 run-off against Governor Edwards.
