Senate Candidates Quietly Filling War Chest

The price of public office continues to soar. This information is based on current fundraising figures submitted from the candidates who are expected to qualify for the former Senate seat of David Vitter. It appears as though the Republican candidates are far outpacing their potential Democratic foes in the quest for campaign support.

Dr. Joshua Stockley , Political Science Professor at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, suggested in his comments to the Louisiana Radio Network that Congressman Charles Boustany has had a very impressive last three months based on campaign contribution figures.

Reports indicate that Boustany added another $1.1 million to his campaign coffers which already had a balance of $2.5 million.

Charles Boustany has had a very good quarter and suggests that he may be separating just a little bit from Representative Fleming.

John Fleming, another United States Representative who is expected to qualify for the Senate race is reporting $2.4 million in his campaign account. Louisiana State Treasurer John Kennedy has a total of $1.4 million his war chest at the last campaign finance reporting deadline.

While Kennedy may lack the total finances of the other two candidates for the U.S. Senate he does have statewide name recognition. At this stage of the campaign this appears to be an advantage for his candidacy.

Boustany and Fleming are trying to distinguish themselves from each other and make the case that they should be the Republican alternative to Kennedy.

On the Democratic side of the race fundraising has not been as robust. State Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell raised a reported $499-thousand during the last three months. His campaign reported an additiona $868-thousand in hand.

The other Democrat expected to qualify this week, Caroline Fayard, had $634-thousand in the bank and reportedly raised another $273-thousand during the last quarter.

If you only had one Democrat in the race, they would probably be taking those two totals, and that would stack competitively and more favorably relative to the Republican candidates.

Stockley went on to suggest that once qualifying ends on Friday you can expect the Senate race and the other statewide races to pick up steam. Qualifying for the November election begins on Wednesday July 20^th and will run through July 22^nd.