Sub-head: If Your Key Issues Are The Same Key Issues Charlie Melancon Addressed

https://twitter.com/JayDardenne/status/637450703745642496

Probably not the best tweet to send out if you’re not wanting to look like you’re desperate to attack others. The Dardenne campaign is struggling a bit, now in fourth place in the Louisiana gubernatorial election. Dardenne has a solid record as a tourism lobbyist for Louisiana, bringing in visitors and helping bring to life many attractions to keep those visitors here longer.

But, tourism emphasis does not a governor make. Dardenne’s attacks in recent weeks seem all to ready to backfire, rather than put him on a pedestal. His attacks on Bobby Jindal for using state troopers while campaigning blew up in his face when it was discovered state troopers were escorting him to his own events. His preaching on ethics hit a setback when this happened (via Jeff Sadow):

Prior to a candidate forum sponsored by a Baton Rouge radio station, Dardenne suffered a public relations setback when information backed by photographic evidence emerged suggesting coordination between his political action committee and his campaign, which is forbidden by law. Of course, the fact that leaders from both organizations were seen yukking it up over dinner and drinks does not mean they were plotting strategy together in violation of the law, but when the Vitter camp publicized the information and implied this motivation, at the very least it did not look so good for Dardenne, who has emphasized ethics issues as part of his platform.

And now, there’s the prostitution setback.

These are not the markers of a campaign that is healthy and keeping up the fight. These are the markers of a campaign that is struggling to find its place in the race, and not having much success at it. With just under two months until election day, Dardenne would need to find something a bit more substantive to campaign on.