Jackson qualifies, drops party tag

• By SARAH CHACKO
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Jul 12, 2008 - Page: 1A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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State Rep. Michael Jackson, a longtime Democrat, on Friday dropped his party affiliation to run this fall for the Baton Rouge-based 6th District congressional seat.

Jackson’s entry into the race on the final day of qualifying allows him to bypass the party primaries and could transform the race for the seat held since May by U.S. Rep. Don Cazayoux, D-New Roads.

All seven U.S. congressional seats are up for election, as is one of the state’s two U.S. Senate spots.

State Treasurer John N. Kennedy, a recent Republican convert, and U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., signed up Friday to run for the U.S. Senate.

Kennedy was joined by fellow Republican J. Jacques Boudreaux of Baton Rouge, a landscape contractor. Robert Stewart of New Orleans, a waiter at Harrah’s casino, qualified as a No Party candidate for the U.S. Senate.

“I do not believe Washington is working for Louisiana, I don’t believe it’s working for America,” Kennedy said.

Landrieu said the people of Louisiana have entrusted her with the Senate post for 12 years, during which time she has been “delivering for the state, doing right for the state.”

Candidates had until 5 p.m. Friday to sign up for state and congressional fall elections. Though it differs for each election, candidates generally “qualify” for a race by paying a fee and meeting certain requirements such as age, citizenship and residency.

The primary election, to select the candidates from each party, is Sept. 6. A runoff election is scheduled for Oct. 4 if no clear winner emerges in the party primary.

The general election, scheduled for Nov. 4, will pit candidates from each recognized political party and those without party affiliation. Usually candidates have to win more than 50 percent of the vote. But in the Nov. 4 general election, the candidate with the most votes will be declared the winner.

Cazayoux beat Jackson in the spring in the primary runoff ballot to choose the Democratic Party’s candidate for the special general election to fill out the remaining months of the term abandoned by Richard Baker, a Baton Rouge Republican, who quit Congress to take a job in private industry.

After the spring special election, Jackson claimed the Louisiana Democratic Party supported Cazayoux rather than remaining neutral.

For the past eight years, Jackson has represented the predominantly black midcity neighborhoods of Baton Rouge. He said running without party affiliation would keep him from having to spend all his resources in the primaries.