Sooner in Tampa
9/5/2007, 05:24 AM
This cannot be for real...can it ??
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is seriously considering a Louisiana gubernatorial bid, a political intimate of Nagin tells CNN.
According to public records and his campaign treasurer, the two-term Democrat has raised more than a half-million dollars in campaign contributions since he was re-elected in 2006, even though Nagin can't run for mayor again. (New Orleans limits mayors to two terms.)
The mayor's senior staff members say Nagin is often approached on the street and asked if he'll run for governor, but they say he just laughs off the suggestion. At the mayor's State of the City speech Wednesday, many local politicians told CNN they'd heard the rumors.
If Nagin does decide to run for the state's highest office, it could be an uphill battle. A recent Loyola University poll showed Nagin had an approval rating of just 19% in New Orleans.
In March, current Democratic Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced she would not seek a second term. Former Louisiana Sen. John Breaux, also a Democrat, entertained the notion of running for the post earlier in the year, but ultimately ruled against it.
On the GOP side, Rep. Bobby Jindal has announced he is running for the post.
"He's clearly seeing his election potential differently than most of Louisiana. Statewide, Ray Nagin is dead in the water," said G. Pearson Cross, an assistant professor of politics at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. "One thing is clear: New Orleans has not had the forceful and dynamic leadership necessary to get recovery on the right track."
But Nagin, in a City Hall interview late last month, struck an optimistic note.
"What I'd like to make sure everybody understands around America is that this city is overcoming a lot of odds. It's like a miracle city in some respects," New Orleans' fourth black mayor said. "Our citizens are doing incredible things out there in spite of a lack of resources, or broken promises."
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is seriously considering a Louisiana gubernatorial bid, a political intimate of Nagin tells CNN.
According to public records and his campaign treasurer, the two-term Democrat has raised more than a half-million dollars in campaign contributions since he was re-elected in 2006, even though Nagin can't run for mayor again. (New Orleans limits mayors to two terms.)
The mayor's senior staff members say Nagin is often approached on the street and asked if he'll run for governor, but they say he just laughs off the suggestion. At the mayor's State of the City speech Wednesday, many local politicians told CNN they'd heard the rumors.
If Nagin does decide to run for the state's highest office, it could be an uphill battle. A recent Loyola University poll showed Nagin had an approval rating of just 19% in New Orleans.
In March, current Democratic Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced she would not seek a second term. Former Louisiana Sen. John Breaux, also a Democrat, entertained the notion of running for the post earlier in the year, but ultimately ruled against it.
On the GOP side, Rep. Bobby Jindal has announced he is running for the post.
"He's clearly seeing his election potential differently than most of Louisiana. Statewide, Ray Nagin is dead in the water," said G. Pearson Cross, an assistant professor of politics at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. "One thing is clear: New Orleans has not had the forceful and dynamic leadership necessary to get recovery on the right track."
But Nagin, in a City Hall interview late last month, struck an optimistic note.
"What I'd like to make sure everybody understands around America is that this city is overcoming a lot of odds. It's like a miracle city in some respects," New Orleans' fourth black mayor said. "Our citizens are doing incredible things out there in spite of a lack of resources, or broken promises."