Democrats tease candidate for governor

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - With the list of potential candidates for governor dominated by Republicans, many are wondering who Democrats will ask to step up to the plate. As of recently, it’s looking like DOTD Transportation Secretary Dr. Shawn Wilson could be their guy.

“I think it means there’s a shortage of Democrats who have any level of high name recognition in the governor’s race so far. There certainly are some in the legislature that you could call out but that really is it,” said Political Consultant Clay Young.

Just the other day, Secretary Wilson set up a group of folks to weigh the pros and cons, review polling and have conversations about whether or not he should run, or what politicians like to call an “exploratory committee”.

Even though Republicans like Sen. John Kennedy, Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser, and Congressman Garret Graves are also considering a run, Young said, depending on image, Democrats could surprise folks.

“I don’t believe that it is an absolute certainty that the next governor will be a Republican. The likelihood is higher, but we remember where we were some time ago when people said because of the backing of then President Trump of Eddie Rispone in a really red state, it was a shoe end. But campaigns can go the other way,” Young added.

While on a local radio show, Talk Louisiana, Governor Edwards commented on the idea of the secretary running for his job.

“First of all, Shawn would be good at whatever he wants to do. He has been a tremendous public servant for many years through multiple administrations. I don’t know whether that’s something he fully intends to do or not, but I can tell you without any reservations he is a tremendous public servant,” said Governor Edwards.

Still, as of now, the only candidate officially in the race remains to be Attorney General Jeff Landry. Landry is a Republican and his campaign told us they won’t be commenting on any other potential candidates right now.

The race for governor is next fall.

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