Up until this week, any smart gambler would have been giving generous odds on a two-term David Vitter governorship in Louisiana. The latest PPP poll certainly gave no reason to bet otherwise.
But there has now arisen the possibility of a candidate no one had thought to poll about, and he'd be a serious challenge for any career pol to beat.
NBC Shreveport affiliate KTAL is reporting that retired Lt. General Russell Honore' "may be considering" entering the 2015 race.
Honore's answers to the station's reporter on the subject were few and non-committal ("There are things that would tempt me to want to do that"), but the speculation of a candidacy by the retired military man in itself is a shakeup.
Honore' could easily capture a majority of vote-rich New Orleans, where he is still celebrated for leading the military response to the Bush-botched aftermath of the federal flood of 2005. He would presumably do quite well in the southern and southwestern parts of the state, where his French-speaking heritage would be a plus. His long and distinguished military service would surely be a boost throughout the state.
While Honore' has in the past been reticent to declare allegiance to either political party, he is hardly in the current mold of obstruct-at-all-costs Republicans. A pragmatist, he reiterates the need for the state to increase emergency preparedness, the subject of his post-Katrina memoir "Survival," and to significantly increase investment in education, a welcome change in a state that has seen its higher-ed budget cut in half under current, failed governor Bobby Jindal.
Speculation of an Honore' run is, for now, just that, but, should he enter the race, he would instantly be a formidable foe for any other candidate. As state political analyst John Sutherlin says, if Honore' chose to run, he would be "tough to beat."
This is a potential development worth watching.