Hoping to determine a clear front-runner in their efforts to unseat Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards this fall, Southwestern Louisiana Republicans are conducting their own Iowa Straw Poll.
The state's first-ever gubernatorial straw poll is being conducted Saturday afternoon.
It's not actually being called Iowa Straw Poll, however. Republicans say it's pronounced "I-oh-way,'' meaning the tiny town in southwest Louisiana, not "I-oh-wah'' as in the nation's midwestern state. About 350 people are expected to gather in the local Knights of Columbus Hall for the $25-a-plate jambalaya and black-eyed pea lunch, to hear stump speeches and cast paper ballots. They'll be choosing between two Republicans challenging Edwards in the October race: U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham, a third-term congressman from northeast Louisiana, and Eddie Rispone, a Baton Rouge businessman making his first bid for office after years as a political donor.
