Ringside Politics With A Punch

As Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere campaigns for Lt. Governor across the state, he is working very hard to line up support from evangelical conservatives. So far, he has met with significant success. For example, he has been endorsed by Dan Richey, the former director of the Governor’s program on abstinence and a prominent social conservative. Villere also has received the endorsement of former GOP State Party Chairman Mike Francis, a favorite of evangelical conservatives across the state. In 2006, Francis lost a statewide race for Secretary of State. The winner of that campaign was Jay Dardenne, who is now considered one of the leading candidates in the race for Lt. Governor. In a recent Southern Media and Opinion Research poll, Dardenne placed well ahead of Villere and another announced candidate St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis.

In this election, Villere will try to succeed where Francis failed; however, it is a challenge for a sitting party chairman to run for a statewide office. When Francis lost, he was no longer party chairman and could focus full time on the race. In this campaign, Villere is going to continue as party chairman and has no plans to resign his position. This is not sitting well with some GOP activists, who plan to introduce a resolution at the next meeting of the GOP State Central Committee asking Villere to resign his party post.