WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Louisiana Treasurer John Kennedy, entered the race for U.S. Senate Tuesday as a Democrat, complicating the party's efforts to hold the seat.
The second Democrat to officially enter the race, Kennedy told supporters he was looking forward to the sharing his ideas about the challenges ahead for Louisiana and the United States. Kennedy joins U.S. Reps. Chris John, a Democrat and David Vitter, a Republican, in the contest for the seat currently held by retiring Democrat U.S. Sen. John Breaux.
Because of Louisiana's unique election process, all candidates compete on the same primary ballot regardless of party affiliation, with the top two finishers going on to a runoff election if no candidate gets over 50 percent of the vote in the primary. National Democrats had hoped early on to limit the field to John and make a runoff election unnecessary.
A Kennedy campaign poll shows him in a "statistical dead heat" for second place and with the highest name identification of any of the candidates among Louisiana voters.
