Morning Digest: Democrats search for a contender to capitalize on a post-Vitter world
Leading Off:
● LA-Sen: On Thursday, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu ruled out a Senate run for David Vitter's open seat. It will be very difficult for Team Blue to win a federal race in a state as conservative as Louisiana anytime soon, though local Democrats have a bit more spring in their step after Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards' victory over Vitter last month. Still, while Landrieu is well-known and well-connected, he may not have been an ideal Democratic nominee for this longshot race. Landrieu is very liberal by Louisiana standards, and Republicans wouldn't hesitate to use New Orleans' high crime rate against him.
Democrats don't have a large bench here, but they're not out of options. LaPolitics' Jeremy Alford reports that Democrats are looking at Don Cazayoux. Cazayoux won a 2008 special election to a conservative Baton Rouge-area congressional district, but lost his bid for a full term after a Democratic state legislator ran as an independent and took 12 percent of the vote. Cazayoux went on to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana, which is also centered around Baton Rouge.
Team Blue could certainly do worse than Cazayoux, though of course the GOP would remind conservative voters that he was Obama's nominee for U.S. Attorney. At the very least, Cazayoux won't need to worry about an independent fucking him over in a general election this time. Louisiana once again requires all candidates to run against each other on one ballot in federal races, and it sends only the top two vote-getters to the general unless someone takes a majority in the jungle primary.
There's no word how interested Cazayoux is in a Senate bid. If Cazayoux doesn't go for it, we'll at least always have this memorable 2008 campaign ad to remember him (and his name) by. Louisiana just held its legislative elections so if any Democratic legislators want to run and try to recreate the John Bel Edwards magic, they won't need to sacrifice their seats.
A number of Republicans are mulling bids here, and so is at least one notable independent. Alford recently reported that former state Sen. Troy Hebert was being encouraged to run, and Hebert has confirmed his interest to the National Journal . Hebert says he'll decide shortly after Jan. 10, when his term as Louisiana's Alcohol and Tobacco Control commissioner ends.
Hebert's only real hope of winning would be for him to edge his way into the December runoff and emerge as the de facto Democratic candidate (Hebert used to be a Democrat) while peeling off enough Republicans to win. However, Hebert may not have an easy time appealing to the Democratic voters he'd need. Hebert works for outgoing Gov. Bobby Jindal, who is especially despised by Pelican State Democrats, and he says he's leaning towards Donald Trump in the presidential race.