Can there can be any question now that U.S. Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, intends to challenge Congressman Charles Boustany this fall?
Can there can be any question now that U.S. Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, intends to challenge Congressman Charles Boustany this fall? A reception scheduled for May 23 at the garish, nouveau-riche River Ranch home of oil patch magnate Mike Moreno bills itself as "a reception benefitting the re-election of Congressman Jeff Landry, Louisiana, 3rd District." Couples will pay $250 to attend, $1,000 to host and the handsome sum of $2,500 to serve as sponsors. Twenty-seven individuals and/or couples are signed on as sponsors while 18 are listed as hosts, meaning the fête has already netted Landry more than $85,000. (See an image of the invitation below.)
Problem is, after 2012 there will be no 3rd Congressional District to which Landry could be re-elected; the district was effectively eliminated during the 2011 redistricting session in the Legislature - absorbed into districts to the east and west including Republican Boustany's 7th Congressional District, which will expand eastward to take in New Iberia where Landry lives.
The new district for which Boustany will essentially be the incumbent will be called the 3rd Congressional District effective Jan. 1, 2013. But don't tell the Landry camp that. On the congressman's website, LandryForLouisiana.com, there is a page devoted to the 3rd Congressional District but the congressman uses an image of the new 3rd, which doesn't yet exist (see the screen grab below). The combined effect of the May 23 fundraiser in Lafayette and the deceptive image on Landry's website is that Landry is seeking re-election to Rep. Boustany's district. Weird, we know. Landry seems to be inventing a new reality: He's the incumbent in southwest Louisiana and he's seeking re-election.
Landry hasn't yet announced his intention to run against Boustany this fall, but if he doesn't he'll be out of a job in elected politics, at least for the time being.
He and Boustany have already begun sniping at each other in press releases. There will be a contest between the two. It will get ugly.
Read more on Landry and his attempts to generate name recognition in Boustany's turf here.
The Landry campaign has already netted more than $85,000 for its campaign coffer with the May 23 reception, based on the invitation above. Meanwhile, on his LandryForLouisiana website (detail below), Landry is using an image of the 3rd Congressional District that will go into effect Jan. 1, 2013, suggesting he is already the incumbent for southwest Louisiana.
