Two more candidates who were expected to run in the Oct. 22 election are making it official.
Two more candidates who were expected to run in the Oct. 22 election are making it official: First-time office seeker Stuart Bishop has made official his intention to seek the District 43 state House seat being vacated by Rep. Page Cortez, who hopes to abandon the House and move into term-limited state Sen. Mike Michot's District 23 chair; and state Rep. Nancy Landry, R-Lafayette, will be center-stage at a $250-per-couple re-election fundraiser scheduled for Aug. 24 at the Petroleum Club.
Bishop's intention to seek Cortez's House seat has been public knowledge since late winter, although the Lafayette businessman has long said he would wait for Cortez to announce his candidacy for the state Senate before making his own candidacy official. The 35-year-old is an officer in his family-run concrete business, Baldwin Redi-Mix. A Republican and LSU alumnus, Bishop will be making his first run at elected office, although he acknowledges that he considered seeking the District 43 House seat last election cycle.
"I've looked at this seat since I move to Lafayette 14 years ago," he told The Ind in late February. "I've always been interested in politics. You and I both know politics is about timing and opportunity, and just waiting for the right opportunity to present itself."
An attorney by vocation, Landry is winding down her first term in the House. She boasts an impressive list of special guests, sponsors and hosts for the Aug. 24 fundraiser, among them Gov. Bobby Jindal (honorary chair), Lt. Gov. Scott Angelle, Commissioner of Agriculture Mike Strain, Michot and fellow state Sen. Jonathan Perry, along with fellow Reps. Joel Robideaux, Page Cortez and Simone Champagne. Numerous prominent Acadiana companies and trade organizations are also listed on the invitation.
Qualifying for the Oct. 22 election will be held Sept. 6-8.