UPDATE: Dardenne’s campaign spokesman Jason Hebert provided an interesting take on the Kershaw flip…

“Sammy is a nice man. He wanted a job, and Jay wouldn’t provide one. Sammy endorsed Jay anyway last year. Is Sammy willing to say that he won’t be getting a job or any money from Billy Nungesser or the Lt. Governor’s office? Jay is accomplishing everything that he and Sammy talked about prior to his endorsement. Jay doesn’t talk about government being out of control, he’s doing something about it. You can’t just create jobs for your friends. If this is the price of shrinking government, Jay will gladly take the heat.”

ORIGINAL: A very bad beat for the Dardenne campaign, indeed.

Lafayette, LA – Country Superstar Sammy Kershaw joined Team Nungesser today, officially endorsing the Plaquemines Parish President for Lt. Governor.  Kershaw, a Republican candidate in last year’s Lt. Governor’s race, won 31 parishes in the primary election.  Kershaw, a Republican from Lafayette, made his announcement via a video, where he laid out his reasons for supporting Nungesser.

Kershaw ran third last year in the special election for the Lt. Governor race that Dardenne ultimately won over Caroline Fayard, and his endorsement was seen as a major asset in Dardenne reeling in support in the southwestern and northern parts of the state.

With Kershaw switching from Dardenne’s camp to Nungesser’s, a key linchpin of that support is in jeopardy. And Dardenne’s re-election looks like it might be a more uphill climb than originally thought.