There has not been much talk regarding Landrieu or Vitter
seeking the governorship: Landrieu would need to run midway through his second
term as Mayor and Vitter seems solidly entrenched in the Senate and would
become the Senior Senator from Louisiana if Mitch’s sister, Mary, is defeated
for re-election.
Mitch was Lt. Governor from 2003-2010 when he resigned to
become the Mayor of New Orleans.
The poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling, shows Landrieu
and Vitter in a dead heat with 44% of the vote each.
In a race between Landrieu and current Lt. Governor Jay
Dardenne, Landrieu stays at 44% with 42% favoring Dardenne. Dardenne has been
widely seen as the strongest potential Republican gubernatorial candidate. The
poll did not test Landrieu’s strength against other potential Republican
challengers like State Treasurer John Kennedy.
There has been speculation that Dardenne, along with
Congressmen Bill Cassidy (R-Baton Rouge) and John Fleming (R-Minden), could
oppose Mary Landrieu. Landrieu defeated Kennedy in 2008 by a 52-46% margin.
In the race to secure campaign dollars, Mary Landrieu as amassed
$2.5 Million for her re-election bid, while Cassidy has $2 Million and Fleming
$468,000, according to campaign finance reports.
Mitch Landrieu, who is up for re-election in 2014, has about
$1 Million in his campaign account, while Kennedy has $2.3 Million and Dardenne
has about $718,000.
