![Former DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson jumps into the race for Governor](https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/2176/files/2023/03/election-2023.png)
After officially leaving as Secretary of the state Department of Transportation Saturday, Shawn Wilson announced Monday morning he is running for Governor this fall. Wilson’s entry would make him the only widely-known Democrat candidate in the race thus far. ULM political science professor Joshua Stockley says Wilson’s greatest obstacle at this point is statewide name recognition.
“He has a tremendous amount of work to do for the average individual – including democrats – to even know who he is and that he is even running for governor.”
Still, Stockley feels Wilson’s will definitely impact the dynamics of the race, as his running will mean less chance that another Republican candidate will make a November runoff. Stockley says, if Wilson is committing to a lot of hard work ahead.
“He’s going to have to do a lot of work getting his name out there. That work will include – most importantly – fundraising.”
Wilson stepped down from his job as head of DOTD last week. His announcement was this morning. Seen as the frontrunner, Attorney General Jeff Landry has over $5-million in campaign money, and a political action committee with almost $2-million to put behind him. Stockley says Wilson’s entry will shake things up, but his success depends on how he campaigns.
“Does he have the ability to raise 5, 6, 7…10-million dollars to wage a serious campaign against Jeff Landry and the rest of the field?”
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