Today is the third and final day of qualifying for the Louisiana governor's race.
The two frontrunners, Republican Jeff Landry and Democrat Shawn Wilson, have already put their names on the ballot. Republicans John Schroder and Sharon Hewitt have also qualified, as has independent Hunter Lundy.
Still, a couple of candidates who have been campaigning heavily have yet to put their name on the ballot.
JMC Analytics pollster John Couvillon says Republicans Richard Nelson and Steven Waguespack are expected to qualify for the governor's race before this afternoon's deadline. According to Couvillon, these delays aren't a case of cold feet. Rather, Couvillon says Nelson and Waguespack are waiting until the last day to qualify so they could avoid sharing the limelight with Jeff Landry.
"That's what I think is most likely the psychology here as opposed to whether he, Stephen, or he, Richard Nelson, will run or not," Couvillon said. "For one thing, Stephen Waguespack still has $2 million in the bank as of the last campaign finance report filing. With Richard Nelson's case: He strikes me as this is something that he's determined to do despite the fact that he has about $250,000 on hand."
According to JMC Analytics founder John Couvillon... Waguespack will put that money to good use in the runup to the October primary election.
Meanwhile... Couvillon says State Representative Richard Nelson is going to stick with this race despite his poll numbers and campaign finances running low.
Couvillon says the end of qualifying comes just weeks before mail-in ballots get sent to voters who requested them. He notes that means candidates who haven't been hitting the campaign trail hard might find themselves running a losing race.
"The kind of time frame for the governor's race is kind of hypercompressed in a way if you think about it," Couvillon said. "We still have more than two months to go before the primary election day, but there will voting going on within a month or just under two months."
