Why should U.S. Sen. David Vitter have all the fun? He shouldn't, according to the architects of the new Blue Pelican Super PAC.
Why should U.S. Sen. David Vitter have all the fun? He shouldn't, according to the architects of the new Blue Pelican Super PAC that is being built up to support the re-election of senior Sen. Mary Landrieu.
But unlike the Fund for Louisiana's Future, which is the Super PAC backing Vitter's gubernatorial bid, Blue Pelican will not be making a push to have the state lift its $100,000 cap on donations to match federal giving guidelines. FLF is registered on both the state and federal level.
"I can't say what the focus will be in the distant future, but we are only going to be a federal Super PAC," said Steve Verzwyvelt of Baton Rouge's Southern Strategic Relations, Blue Pelican's general consultant in Louisiana. "We haven't made a buy yet. We'll be doing that in the coming weeks and months."
Ben Chao, a Democratic strategist with the D.C.-based Joe Trippi and Associates, is in charge of the playbook, which is being finalized now.
"We're going to make the case for voters in Louisiana that it's a good thing to keep Mary around and help them learn a little more about (GOP challenger Congressman Bill) Cassidy that might make them take a second look."
So far the Blue Pelican PAC has secured "several hundred thousand in pledges nationally," although Chao said the first deposit "could be significantly more."
As for the Super PAC backing Vitter's run for governor, Chao said it could soon have direct competition.
"I think some of the people behind Blue Pelican could create a PAC for the governor's race, too," he said, adding it wouldn't be a Super PAC, though.
Meanwhile, Cassidy has received his fair share of outside help from groups like Americans for Prosperity, a political advocacy group controlled by billionaire industrialists David and Charles Koch.
And while Landrieu will certainly get a boost from Blue Pelican, politicos expect even more serious money to continue rolling in on her behalf from the Senate Majority PAC, which has already shelled out more than $3.8 million this election cycle targeting five candidates around the country, including Cassidy.