Tuesday begins the three-day qualifying period for the fall election, and while most eyes are on the governor’s race there are some undercard competitions for other statewide offices to keep an eye on.
The most competitive appears to be Insurance Commissioner, where incumbent Jim Donelon is taking on Tim Temple, who’s campaign claims a million dollars. Political analyst Clancy Dubos says it’s the hottest race outside of governor “because the races are going to be sort of low profile having a challenger with a large war chest is always a daunting thing.” Temple reportedly is largely self-financing his race.
Before last week it appeared Ag Commissioner Mike Strain could be vulnerable to a candidate who hammered him on medical marijuana delays, but the product will be hitting shelves on Tuesday…
“You are going to have an incumbent with a lot of name recognition, and to the extent that people are going to want to vote for someone who is making medical marijuana more available, Strain is doing that.”
Strain faces Democrats Margee Green and Charlie Greer.
No major contenders seem interested in taking on Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser or Attorney General Jeff Landry despite their high-profile offices, but DuBos says anything could happen until the 4:30 PM Thursday deadline to sign up “very often we are surprised when in one of the elections someone with a name or a bankroll jumps in and turns it into a race, you just never know.”
Secretary of State and Treasurer will also be on the ballot.