As Joe Cunningham asks, do we root for injuries in such a race?

East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Kip Holden said Thursday he is 90 percent sure he will run this fall for Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Holden said he expects to commit to a decision by the second week of April and that he is conferring with his family, friends and political allies. He would be challenging Cedric Richmond, a Democrat who has held the seat since 2010.

“It’s a natural progression for me,” said the term-limited mayor who was previously a state senator, state representative and East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council member. Holden lost a bid to become the state’s lieutenant governor last year.

Holden said he’s been encouraged by support from people who have asked him to run. He said he will not disclose any platforms or plans for change until he makes an official announcement but that he believes he can serve people more efficiently.

Richmond was asked for comment, and apparently babbled incoherently about FEMA and tornado and flood relief.

Whoever wins – Richmond would be the favorite, as Holden proved himself in last year’s failed bid for Lt. Governor to be a singularly poor political fundraiser – we can be sure that the 2nd District will remain the most poorly-represented of the six Louisiana congressional districts. Richmond’s sole achievement to date has been that he is something of a cross between Hank Aaron and Satchel Paige for the Congressional Democrats’ team in the annual Capitol Hill baseball game, and his loss would doubtless even the odds in that affair next year.

The guess would be that since there are more New Orleans people in the 2nd District than Baton Rouge people, and particularly in the black community – the district is majority black – there is some animus between the two towns. Holden’s less-than-welcoming attitude toward Katrina refugees of color might come back to bite him in that race.

Nevertheless, here’s hoping for an uncommonly bloody, nasty campaign which leads to great dysfunction and acrimony among the majority of the 2nd District’s heavily-Democrat electorate. We might get lucky enough to have just that if things work out well.