Gov. Jeff Landry used a stop in Metairie to make the case for four more years, signaling again that he is operating like a candidate for a second term even though he has not formally announced a reelection bid. He told the crowd he is ready to put his record up against anyone who gets in the race.
That matters now because the 2027 governor's race is still taking shape, and Landry is already acting as if it is underway. Campaign finance reports show he has nearly $11 million banked for the effort, a sum that gives him a head start before anyone has officially stepped forward to challenge him.
Landry tried to turn that head start into a governing argument. He said his record includes 60,000 new job opportunities created in just three years, a record amount of roads and bridges under construction, lower taxes, and a fiscal house in Baton Rouge that is in better shape than ever. He also said public safety statistics speak for themselves. He earned more than 52% of the vote in his first run, and he is already framing the next race as a direct test of that record.
The money behind that pitch has been building for months. In March, Landry said he had raised $10 million for his reelection effort. In September, he said he pulled in another $7 million at his annual alligator hunt. Those figures do not add up to the nearly $11 million now banked because some of the money was spent along the way or reflected in later reporting, but the bottom line is the same: he has built a large reserve without formally entering the contest.
That is the friction in the race. Landry is behaving like an incumbent seeking another term, but he has not made the announcement that would make it official. Jeff Crouere said Landry aims to raise as much as possible to keep potential challengers from jumping in, and so far that strategy appears to be working. No one has officially entered the race, and the Louisiana Democratic Party has not endorsed a candidate.
Jamie Davis is one of the names still hovering at the edge of the field. He said a gubernatorial run remains on the table, adding, “I may possibly think about running for governor,” and, “My thought on 2027 is a maybe. I want to weigh all my options. If I don't run for governor, I'm definitely running for Senate in 2028.” NOLA.com has also named Jay Luneau, Davante Lewis, Gary Smith and Dustin Granger as possible Democratic candidates, while Billy Nungesser, John Fleming and Garret Graves have been mentioned as possible Republican options.
The race remains open in the formal sense, but Landry is treating it like a fight he expects to have. The next real marker is whether he finally declares for 2027 — and whether anyone else decides the field is crowded enough to step in.
