Governor Landry has weighed in on the U.S. Senate race, aligning with President Trump and giving his endorsement to Julia Letlow. ULM Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says he’s not surprised at all.
“It was fairly common knowledge that Governor Landry supported Julia Letlow, and had been working behind the scenes, talking with the Trump administration about endorsement and supporting Julia Letlow,” Cross said.
Cross says while Landry’s endorsement likely will not prevent a runoff, it will likely be effective in defending Letlow against incumbent Bill Cassidy.
“This may be something of a life raft, in the sense that the governor’s coming out strongly, countering the PAC that’s supporting Cassidy, who are trying to depict Letlow as a liberal,” Cross said.
Of course, the third factor in this race is John Fleming, who took to social media to blast Landry’s endorsement. In that same post, Fleming said before Ralph Abraham announced his departure from the CDC, he offered him his position in an effort to get him to end his campaign, which he declined. Cross says this is further proof that Abraham presents a major roadblock in Letlow’s path to the U.S. Senate.
“If Ralph Abraham did make that call and offer, rightly or wrongly, Fleming a position, it was clearly with a look to making the path smoother for Letlow,” Cross said.
One week after resigning from the CDC to tend to what he called urgent family obligations, Abraham was announced as Letlow’s campaign manager.
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