Potential 2023 Louisiana gubernatorial contenders Attorney General Jeff Landry and Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser are off to a strong fundraising start, with the election more than two years away.
Landry is sitting on more than $2 millions and Nungesser has about $1.5 million in his campaign warchest, according to a fundraising report filed with the state ethics administration that covers the fundraising period that ended last year.
Political Analyst Bernie Pinsonat said the two statewide elected Republicans are strong early favorites.
“Those are the two candidates that everyone expects to run for governor, they’ve been running for governor for the last three years even though they didn’t run two years ago they certainly were potential candidates,” said Pinsonat.
Other Republicans rumored to be contemplating a run include Slidell Senator Sharon Hewitt and State Treasurer John Schroder, but each is only sitting on six-figure sums, with Hewitt claiming $215,000 cash on hand and Schroder reporting $550,000.
“As we have seen from the last two governor’s races you really need at least $4 million,” said Pinsonat.
Baton Rouge Congressman Garret Graves has a federal election war chest that can’t be used in state races.
Pinsonat said with Governor Edwards term-limited, there’s no easy answer for Democrats in 2023, but he says Edwards' two wins prove you can’t count the party out.
“The Democrats had a candidate and a lot of us did not take him seriously but he was on the ballot and circumstances provided him with a great opportunity to win,” said Pinsonat, who added two early Democrats being floated are Norco Senator Gary Smith and Baton Rouge Senator Cleo Fields.
