Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Local Newscast
Hear the latest from the WRKF/WWNO Newsroom.

“Long Shot” - That Was Then, This Is Now

LAPolitics.com

Just in time for another runoff election, there’s a new book out about last year’s race.

Long Shot is the story of the 2015 race for governor, as told from the campaign trail, and it was everything that we love about Louisiana politics.”

Jeremy Alford of LaPolitics.com co-authored the book with Tyler Bridges of the Advocate.  Alford sat down with me to discuss the book, that race, and any implications for this Saturday’s U.S. Senate runoff between Republican John Kennedy and Democrat Foster Campbell.

“We had an exception with the governor’s race in 2015, but the fundamentals of statewide politics in Louisiana tend to favor a Republican candidate,” Alford said. “And if we believe the headlines, I think John Kennedy’s in a pretty good position.”

Alford says this year’s race doesn’t have the drama that drove last year’s battle between David Vitter and John Bel Edwards.

“It ended up being a story of sin, a story of redemption, and a story of self-determination,” he said, whereas Kennedy and Campbell have basically stuck to their respective party lines.

“They’ve both become symbols that really have nothing to do with their own personal political brands that they’ve crafted over the years.”

Alford believes there’s another difference, too – how citizens here view their governor, as opposed to their congressional representation.

“It’s one thing to take a U.S. Senator, ship him off to Washington, D.C., and let him do his job way over there. But to have him here, present ? It’s a different kind of race, and it’s much more personal when you have Louisiana voters deciding who their next governor is going to be.”

With Long Shot hitting bookstore shelves later this week, Alford is looking forward to getting Saturday’s results in the books.

“We’ve had 3 statewide elections back-to-back. I’m just ready for it to end – like a lot of people.”