U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy announced this morning he won’t be running for governor of Louisiana. ULM political science professor Pearson Cross says he isn’t surprised.
“Senator Kennedy, the other senator from Louisiana, came out and said he was considering running, so this may have had some effect ultimately on whether or not Senator Cassidy decided to run,” Cross said.
Kennedy says he will make a decision soon.
Cross says if Kennedy enters the race he will be the favorite. He won re-election to the Senate with 62 percent of the vote. Cross says he has also polled the highest of the potential candidates.
“And his presence would be the one that the other candidates would be looking to as the major competition, regardless if they’re Republican or Democrat,” Cross said.
In his announcement, Cassidy said pointed out that when the new Congress goes into session next year he will become the ranking minority member of a very powerful senate committee. The HELP committee has jurisdiction over health care, education, employment, and retirement policies. Cassidy is a physician. Cross says his history of bi-partisanship will also be helpful.
“Senator Cassidy has a fairly crucial position as maybe one of the pivots in the Senate to actually get some legislation passed in this divided government,” Cross said.
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