Breaux will not run for governor

Former U.S. Senator John Breaux, a Democrat from Crowley who has been an informal candidate in the 2007 race for Louisiana governor, enjoyed himself at a large crawfish boil at Southdown Plantation in Houma on Thursday, shooting the breeze with attendees eager to talk to the man who represented the state in the U.S. House and Senate for 32 years.

The following day, however, Breaux must have found the opinion n or lack of opinion n issued by Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti not so enjoyable.

Breaux has been a resident of Maryland since he retired from the Senate in 2005, though he owns property and pays taxes in Louisiana.

The Louisiana state Constitution requires candidates for governor to be “citizens” of the state for five years prior to running.

Foti on Friday, in a much-anticipated announcement, declared that the issue of whether or not Breaux can legally run for governor should be decided in court.

A court decision has to be made “after the candidate qualifying period in September,” according to a press release issued by the Republican Party of Louisiana.

“I was hopeful that the attorney general would have been able to issue an opinion on my qualifications to run for governor,” Breaux said in a news release on Friday.

However, by late Friday the former senator said he would not seek the governor’s office.

In a statement issued through the Louisiana Democratic Party, Breaux said the failure of a “clear declaration of my status as a (Louisiana) citizen greatly inhibits my ability to conduct a campaign based on the issues instead of the law.

“I said I would be guided by the Attorney General’s opinion, and therefore will not be a candidate for governor,” he said.

The former Senator was upbeat Thursday at the South Central Industrial Association crawfish boil about his chances of running for governor.

“I’ll be guided by what the attorney general says,” he said. “I thank the attorney general for the hard work he has put in.”

Breaux’s decision not to mount a gubernatorial campaign against front-runner Bobby Jindal, a Republican from Kenner leaves the Democrats in the lurch for a strong candidate. Foster Campbell, a Public Service commissioner, and New Orleans activist the Rev. Raymond Brown are the only Democratic candidates currently in the race.

After Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced last month that she would not seek re-election, Breaux appeared to many to be a strong choice. He represented Louisiana on Capitol Hill for 32 years n 18 of which were spent in the Senate.

In a press release issued early Friday, the Republican Party of Louisiana said of Breaux that “his primary residence is in Maryland, his homestead exemption is not in Louisiana, he cancelled his Louisiana voter registration under penalty, and…his principal place of employment is in Washington D.C.”

However, at the Houma event on Thursday, Breaux was adamant that he was eligible to run. “I meet the qualifications (to run),” Breaux said at the Houma event. “Let the people decide who they want to be governor.”

He said, “I was born here, I’ll be buried here.”

In his announcement Friday, Breaux’s disappointment was evident.

“For me to run now means that we would face a campaign based on an eligibility to run, with the prospects of being in a courtroom only weeks before the election. That is not in the best interest of our state or what this election should be about,” he said.

In addition to Jindal, Campbell and Brown, state Sen. Walter Boasso and businessman John Georges are running for the governor’s seat. Boasso and Georges are both Republicans. A Libertarian and an Independent are also running.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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