We're two months away from election day. Now that qualifying is done, candidates seeking the governor's office will need to raise--and spend--money on campaign commercials. According to one political analyst, the sooner they start, the better.
"The time is now," University of Louisiana at Monroe political science professor Pearson Cross said. "It's costs a lot of money to get on statewide TV."
According to Cross, candidates may have to spend around $450,000 per week to run their campaign ads on television stations across Louisiana. Cross says with only two months to go before Election Day, the candidates seeking a spot in the November runoff need to start padding their campaign coffers immediately.
"You can see that even if you have a two- or three-million-dollar war chest, if you want to get on statewide TV, you're going to run through your cash quickly," Cross said.
Cross adds that if a candidate wants to be in the top two and reach the general election, that candidate needs to raise and spend money to let voters know he or she exists.
"To be elected, you've got to make the runoff, and to make the runoff, you've got to be one of the top two," Cross said. "They need to be corralling those big donors right now and getting those pledges and getting those Super PACs in operation."
Cross says he expects Democratic candidate Shawn Wilson to hold on to his campaign cash because he's almost guaranteed a spot in the runoff. However, he says the Republicans and the independent candidate seeking to steal a spot in the runoff from Wilson or Republican front-runner Jeff Landry can't afford to save their money.
"There's no point in keeping your powder dry if you're somebody who's not at the top," Cross said. "So if you're a John Schroder, a Stephen Waguespack, or a Hunter Lundy, you really gotta get your message out. It doesn't matter if you go into the final with no money if you're not in the final."
