From a press release out this morning, we could have an early favorite in the race for Louisiana’s 2nd-highest state office in the person of the President of Jefferson Parish…

John Young today announced that his campaign for Lieutenant Governor has raised nearly $2 million, and began the year with $1.8 million on hand without any personal loans received.

“I’m honored to have the support of so many people from every corner of Louisiana,” Young said. “The strength of my campaign comes from the folks I’ve met on the road who want to be part of the bright future of our state. I’m humbled by the statewide support and look forward to visiting with as many voters as possible in the coming months.”

The campaign reported contributions from nearly 400 unique donors, with over 96% of the total raised in-state.

The field for the Lt. Governor race hasn’t quite been set yet, though we do have three major candidates in Young, former Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser, who ran for the office and finished second to Jay Dardenne in 2011, and Baton Rouge mayor-president Kip Holden. The conventional wisdom has it that Holden will make the runoff with some Republican candidate, who will then beat him badly.

Nungesser hasn’t released his 2014 financials yet, but a year ago he boasted $1.45 million in the bank. The chances are pretty good he’ll have more cash to show at present than Young. Holden will certainly have less when he files his report.

The interesting question would be what might happen should a conservative Republican from North Louisiana – a Mike Walsworth or Zack Dasher, perhaps – get into the race. If the battle would be for a runoff spot opposite Holden, a North Louisiana candidate might be able to consolidate lots of votes from Alexandria north, and turn the race into a battle in the southwestern part of the state (not to mention Baton Rouge and the Florida Parishes) while Young and Nungesser split the New Orleans vote.

But none has jumped into the race as yet, and with Young and likely Nungesser showing sizable war chests it might be that time is getting short to put a campaign and a fundraising apparatus together.