Chet Traylor, the first Republican elected to Louisiana's Supreme Court since Reconstruction, made a last-minute decision to take on Vitter after a fresh scandal for the first-term lawmaker: An aide had remained on Vitter's payroll after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a knife-wielding incident with an ex-girlfriend.
"In the weeks leading right up to the campaign, people just wanted an alternative," said Traylor, 64, an Army veteran and former state trooper who later became a lawyer and a judge.
Traylor said conservative Republicans - he didn't name them - begged him to enter the race, fearing that Vitter, hobbled by scandals old and new, could lose to a Democrat in the general election.
Still, Vitter has the incumbent's edge, in the Aug. 28 primary and in November, when he'll likely face Democrat Charlie Melancon and a handful of independent and minor party candidates. He has more than $5 million in campaign cash and a double-digit lead in recent polls over Melancon, who has about half that amount.
State GOP chairman Roger Villere still backs Vitter, a 49-year-old attorney, Rhodes Scholar and the state's first Republican senator in modern times. Other state Republicans also are standing with the incumbent.
Traylor has only started raising money and building name recognition even though he won election in a sprawling Supreme Court district in north Louisiana.
"I would like to find out more information about his background," said Connie Beach, a Republican from Folsom in south Louisiana, who added that "the right person" might be able to defeat Vitter in the primary.
Lev Dawson believes Vitter is vulnerable. Dawson is a conservative north Louisiana farmer and businessman and a frequent contributor to past Republican campaigns, including Vitter's. But now he is managing Traylor's fledgling campaign and says Republicans who want Traylor to run believe the latest scandal isn't the last.
"Is there more coming? We think there might be. And if there's more coming, how bad is it? And what will happen to the women's vote in Louisiana, and will he survive it?" said Dawson. "We think if Justice Traylor gets the nomination, he'll win."
Others were more skeptical of Traylor's chances.
"Right now, at this time, I don't see that happening," Cathy White, a New Orleans Republican said, when asked if Traylor could win. White, president of a 73-member Republican women's group, said members of the group like Vitter's opposition to President Barack Obama's policies.
Vitter has focused his attention on Melancon, repeatedly calling him a rubber stamp for Obama's initiatives even though the conservative congressman often breaks with his party. Vitter attracted attention this past week when he expressed support for conservative organizations challenging Obama's citizenship in court. So-called birthers have challenged Obama's standing as president by arguing that he was not born in the United States. Hawaii officials have repeatedly confirmed the president's citizenship.
The incumbent has responded to Traylor's entry into the race in much the same way he handled the prostitution scandal, by keeping quiet about it. His campaign declined to comment for this story.
John Edwards Film To Be Directed By Aaron SorkinDem Senate candidate mum on inviting Obama to Ky.
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий