Running for Governor in Louisiana -- The Campaign and Election
The CampaignThere is no official starting time for the campaign. Most of the major candidates announced their intention to run for governor eight months to one year prior to the October date of the primary election. Fundraising for most of the candidates is an almost continuous process, since most of them currently hold office at the parish, state, or federal level. To these candidates, hustling a buck for their campaign warchests is sometimes more important than the office wo which they were elected. Look for things to heat up by September, as the temperature outside begins to cool down. It's way too hot outside to hold rallies, and most folks won't even take the time to shake a candidate's hand in the heat of July or August. They're more interested in getting back into the air conditioning of the grocery store or shopping mall. By mid-September, there won't be a weekend in the major cities and larger towns where a candidate won't be making an appearance. September is also important because the candidates must qualify for office at the end of August. This means everyone has to "put up or shut up." Since all state and many parish offices are up for grabs at this time, this will be the time where we will see the field of 11 major candidates narrow a bit. Five of the 11 candidates will have to give up the chance to run for re-election to their current jobs to qualify for Governor. Many people expect that Harry Lee (the Sheriff of Jefferson Parish) and State Senator Mike Foster will drop out so they can run for re-election. It's also possible that one of the two black congressmen in the race (Bill Jefferson and Cleo Fields) will drop out, for financial reasons. There has already been one TV debate, held on July 27th, with one more scheduled for October 16th. The PrimaryAll qualified candidates will be placed on the ballot for the primary election on October 21st. Louisiana operates under an open primary system, where party affiliation doesn't matter. The state GOP pushed for the open system in the 1970s, in the hopes that they could break the lock the Democratic party had on the state. Even the most conservative of voters didn't switch parties because of the fear of being effectively disenfranchised. The open primary (combined with other factors) has created a dramatic increase in the number of registered Republicans since the Reagan years. The state GOP has been unable to significantly capitalize on those gains, but that's another story. There is talk in the legislature about returning to a closed-primary system, which would insulate the GOP from the black voters of the city of New Orleans, at least until the general election. With the exception of Presidential elections and the "Super Tuesday" presidential preference primary, Louisiana holds its elections on Saturdays, believing that it is easier for more people to get to the polls on a weekend than on a workday. The General ElectionIf no candidate gets a 50% plus one vote margin in the October 21st primary, there will be a runoff election on November 18th. This will almost certainly happen this year. The oddest race in the history of the last fifty years was in 1987, when then-Congressman Buddy Roemer ran first and was slated to face incumbent-Governor Edwin Edwards in a runoff. Edwards dropped out of the race the night of the primary, allowing Roemer to win unopposed. Look for the time period between the primary and runoff to become particularly nasty, in true Louisiana fashion.  Back to the Governor's Race Top Page
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