La. Sen. Bill Cassidy says he has decided to not enter governor’s race

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) says he has decided not to enter the already crowded race for Louisiana governor, per a written statement from his office Friday (Nov. 18) morning.

On Tuesday (Nov. 15), Cassidy told reporters on his routine press call that he would make a decision by the end of the week.

The decision not to run comes days after Sen. John Kennedy, who won re-election to the U.S. Senate just last week, announced the launch of his own gubernatorial campaign.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry already announced his intention to run, securing the early endorsement of the Louisiana GOP on Monday.

“Around the rest of the country, folks are talking about the United States Senate. In the state of Louisiana, we’re talking about Day 1 of the governor’s race, just 24 hours after the polls closed,” said Fox 8 political analyst Mike Sherman. “There’s a lot of names being floated out there on the Republican side as gubernatorial candidates.”

More: Louisiana governor’s race takes off early, with crowded field anticipated

Cassidy would have been the third Republican to enter the race for the governor’s mansion.

“That is forcing everyone else interested in running for governor to move up their timeline as well,” Sherman said. “That was a challenging strategic move to pull off, and one that may or may not be beneficial in the long run.”

Sherman said other potential Republican candidates, including Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser and Louisiana Treasurer John Schroder, took notice of Landry’s move and likely will move up their own announcements.

Two-term Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, is term-limited and unable to run again. So far, no Democrats have announced their intention to run for the office.

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