Jindal vs. Breaux?

This evening, in time for 6:00 news broadcasts, Governor Kathleen Blanco will announce that she is not running for re-election. Tune in, either to KLAX or to KALB for live coverage.

Despite Breaux’s questionable residency, Blanco wouldn’t step aside if that were any real problem for Breaux. Remember Jim McCrery. The residency ruling for him will apply to Breaux.

Nevertheless, Breaux and his wife are registered to vote in Maryland. Unless I’ve missed something, McCrery did not register to vote out of state. That aspect very well could be a problem for Breaux. Political analyst Charlie Cook believes it might be, at any rate, saying that even if Breaux manages to overcome that legal problem, it could still hurt him politically.

That said, given Blanco’s terrible poll numbers, no one should be surprised she’s not running for re-election. Terrible poll numbers do not a large war chest make. Couple that with the unlikelihood that the Thyssen-Krupp steel mill is coming to Louisiana and it’s clear a re-election bid would be ridiculous.

Some have said that Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu, who very much wants to be governor, might get the nod, rather than Breaux. I highly doubt that, considering his poor showing in the New Orleans mayoral race. The Dems simply can’t risk it with so much at stake in ’08. Ergo, my bet is that Breaux, despite legal difficulties, is Bobby Jindal’s opponent.

Get ready, folks. This election cycle could be one for the books.

Snarky update: I just heard a local Dem analysis of Blanco’s remarks and the possibility of Breaux’s gubernatorial candidacy. No mention was made of Breaux’s voter registration in Maryland, but it was said that the courts generally allow voters to decide such residency matters. Really? In this case, which ones, those in Maryland, or those in Louisiana? Will the governor’s race eventually decide it? If Breaux wins, he’s a Louisiana citizen; but, if he loses, he’s a citizen of Maryland? Are we confuzzled yet?