Shawn Wilson continued to consolidate Democratic support in his first week as a gubernatorial candidate when he received the endorsement on Wednesday of U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, the only Democrat in Louisiana’s congressional delegation.
“Shawn doesn’t play politics,” Carter, who graduated several years ahead of Wilson from the former O. Perry Walker High School in Algiers, said in a statement. “He collaborates with everyone, is innovative and achieves for the people.”
Carter’s blessing came a day after Gov. John Bel Edwards, the state’s only statewide Democratic elected official, endorsed Wilson, who until Friday served as Edwards’ secretary of transportation.
The support of Carter and Edwards is hardly unexpected, but the endorsements on the first two days after Wilson declared his candidacy on Monday show how leading Democrats are intent on closing ranks behind him.
“The more high profile endorsements that Dr. Wilson can pick up, the less likely it is to see another well-known Democrat get in the race,” said Mary-Patricia Wray, a political consultant in Baton Rouge who was a key part of the campaign team that elected Edwards in 2015.
“The power of these endorsements is not that it will convince voters – they’re not yet paying close attention to the race – but it will convince the donor class and other surrogates to come aboard, and it will serve as a signal to consultants that this is the Democratic candidate. It’s an important major box to check and shows how the behind the scenes work over the past month among Democrats has definitely made a difference.”
Carter’s endorsement came a day after Stephen Waguespack, a Republican and the long-time head of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, said he was also eyeing the governor’s race. Other Republican candidates are Attorney General Jeff Landry, Treasurer John Schroder, state Sen. Sharon Hewitt of Slidell and state Rep. Richard Nelson of Mandeville.
Hunter Lundy, a trial attorney and fundamentalist minister, is running as a political independent.
Carter in 2021 won the congressional seat held by Cedric Richmond in a New Orleans-based district that stretches up the Mississippi River to include Black-majority neighborhoods in Baton Rouge.
Wilson said that Ike Spears, a New Orleans attorney who is a key lieutenant for the Carter/Richmond political organization, will raise money and provide strategic advice for his campaign.
To understand this year’s moves, it helps to recall that in June 2015, Edwards’ campaign for governor was momentarily thrown into a tizzy when Tony Clayton, then a prominent African American attorney in West Baton Rouge Parish, suddenly voiced interest in getting into the governor’s race.
Clayton soon announced he would not be a candidate, and the Edwards campaign breathed a sigh of relief. No other Democratic candidate emerged to cut into Edwards’ support.
Clayton, now the district attorney for the parishes of West Baton Rouge, Iberville and Pointe Coupee, was asked Wednesday whether he will support Wilson this year.
“I’ve never spoken to Shawn Wilson about him running, nor have I spoken to the governor about it,” Clayton said. “I must admit the governor carries a lot of weight with me. I would entertain listening to the governor explain Shawn’s path of victory to me. The governor has been there and done that.”
Gary Chambers Jr., a Democrat who finished second in last year’s U.S. Senate campaign to Sen. John Kennedy, said the chances of him running for governor are “zero. I look forward to seeing the secretary have a great race. He knows how government works and how to get things done. I hope other leading Democrats join behind Secretary Wilson.”
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