Dardenne, Nungesser running neck and neck
by Mike Hasten - News Star (excerpt)

BATON ROUGE — When Republican Secretary of State Jay Dardenne was elected lieutenant governor 10 months ago to fill the remainder of Mitch Landrieu's term, his biggest worry was a Democratic political newcomer with lots of money to spend but almost no name recognition.

Now that he's seeking a full four-year term, his only worry is a member of his own party with significant backing, $1 million of his own money to buy ads and statewide name recognition gained from almost nightly television appearances during the British Petroleum oil disaster off Louisiana's coast. Dardenne and Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser are the only candidates for lieutenant governor on the Oct. 22 ballot. They are locked in what polls show is almost a dead heat contest.

Each candidate is trying to cast the other in as bad a light as possible. Each has called the other a liar and said that his opponent is twisting statements and records. "You've got two Republican office-holders going mano a mano in a race that's going to be decided by the undecideds," said Pearson Cross, head of the Political Science Department at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The unknown factor that could decide the outcome of the race is Democrats.