As expected, former President Donald Trump has endorsed Jeff Landry to be the next governor of Louisiana.
The endorsement Monday came in a brief video clip where Trump said Landry has been “a fantastic attorney general” and “wants to stop crime.”
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Trump is the most popular Republican in Louisiana and is the leading candidate to be his party’s next president.
Landry has tied himself to Trump ever since Trump emerged as a political force in 2016. The attorney general already had the endorsement of Donald Trump Jr., who has gone alligator hunting with Landry in Louisiana.
Landry’s campaign had announced in March that he would be traveling to Trump’s home in Florida to receive the blessing.
That trip took place in April, the Landry campaign said.
Landry is the front-runner among Republicans at this point in the governor's race, five months before the Oct. 14 primary. He has raised the most money, is running strongest in the polls and, aside from Trump, has the endorsements of Congressmen Mike Johnson and Clay Higgins, and the Louisiana Republican Party.
"Landry already had first call on Trump's base, and this solidifies that," said Ron Faucheux, a pollster and political analyst in New Orleans. "While it doesn't fundamentally change things, it will make it harder to keep Landry out of the runoff."
The endorsement from Trump comes after the former president was indicted by the district attorney in Manhattan for orchestrating a $130,000 payment in hush money to Louisiana-raised porn star Stormy Daniels and then covering it up. Trump has accused the district attorney of being racist and trying to score political points.
The endorsement carries with it a potential downside, Faucheux said, given the former president's polarizing nature. Landry "has to keep defending Trump, especially if Trump is indicted for more serious felonies," Faucheux said.
The endorsement was released just days after a super PAC supporting Stephen Waguespack, the former CEO of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, began airing an TV ad supporting his candidacy to be governor. The super PAC, Reboot Louisiana, is hiding the identities of the individual donors for several big contributions.
Waguespack, a former senior aide to then-Gov. Bobby Jindal, is a Republican, as are three other gubernatorial candidates: Treasurer John Schroder, state Sen. Sharon Hewitt of Slidell and state Rep. Richard Nelson of Mandeville.
Hunter Lundy, a veteran trial attorney, is a political independent from Lake Charles.
Also in the race is Shawn Wilson, a Democrat and former transportation secretary.
The Louisiana Democratic Party tweeted the news of Trump's endorsement, saying it came from "the disgraced former President who incited an insurrection against the United States of America to overturn an election by peddling dangerous election lies."
