Odom- the momentum in the race is swinging to Jindal
by Ed Anderson - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

It's an unusual situation for Democrats. The party that has dominated Louisiana politics for 130 years is having trouble finding a well-known candidate with broad appeal in a state that is conservative and trending more so.

Left-leaning Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell of Bossier Parish is the lone elected Democrat in the race. He is in full campaign mode, running ads and pushing a platform that includes a major tax on the oil industry. But even among many Democrats, confidence is lacking for Campbell's chances because of his populist philosophy.

Meanwhile, Jindal leads the polls by a solid margin and has banked a formidable $5.1 million in campaign money. In a significant development Friday, the Louisiana Sheriffs Association backed Jindal's bid. The sheriffs, district attorneys and other parts of the so-called "courthouse crowd" have traditionally been part of the Democratic Party base and a major part of the voter-turnout machinery.

With the sheriffs' support, "the momentum in the race is swinging" to Jindal, said state Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom, a major player in state Democratic Party politics.

Odom said Boasso "would pick up votes if he switches, but Foster (Campbell) is in the race to stay," and that presents a possible barrier to a Boasso run as a Democrat.

"I'm not worried about Walter Boasso," Campbell said. "It doesn't make any difference at all (what Boasso does), I will get the vast majority of the Democratic vote. At the last session, Mr. Boasso voted against the (state) minimum wage bill and spoke against it. . . . That doesn't sound too Democratic to me."

While Boasso is mulling his options, state Democratic Party Chairman Chris Whittington said he has not spoken to Boasso and could not speculate on what the Republican might do.

"Foster Campbell is the only strong announced candidate," Whittington said.

If Boasso switches, some wonder how a white former Republican would appeal to the African-American voting base in the Democratic Party.

"I don't think the Democratic Party, as an institution, is waiting for someone to switch parties," said Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, who lost the 1995 gubernatorial runoff to Mike Foster and has backed get-out-the-vote efforts in several Democratic Party races. "There is a dedicated Democrat in the race now," he said, referring to Campbell.