Democratic District Attorney Hillar Moore of East Baton Rouge Parish has announced that he is not running for governor of Louisiana.

Moore announced the decision to his staff Tuesday after much deliberation about his potential candidacy. Moore says that his love for his position as EBR District Attorney played a large role in him choosing not to step down. This makes yet another high-profile Louisiana democrat who is choosing not to enter a gubernatorial race that is being dominated by republicans.

However, this only casts more attention onto another potential democratic candidate.

Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Dr. Shawn Wilson will be stepping down from his position Saturday, and many are expecting him to announce a campaign for this year’s gubernatorial election.

Wilson could very likely be a leading contender for governor, at least on the Democrat side. Incumbent governor John Bel Edwards recently made a heavy statement, describing Wilson as “the most effective DOTD secretary in state history.” The unsuccessful 2022 U.S. Senate candidate Gary Chambers has also stated that he would not run if Wilson did.

Another potential high-profile democratic candidate lies in state senator Gary Smith, but it seems he would likely face an uphill battle with Wilson’s potential candidacy. The only official democratic candidate in the race is pastor Danny Cole, who previously had an unsuccessful state senate race in 2019.

Things only seem to be heating up more and more on the Republican end of the spectrum, but Attorney General Jeff Landry has taken most of the spotlight.

A recent poll of 504 republicans and independents showed Landry leading the race early, receiving 48% of the votes. Other republican candidates including Treasurer John Schroder, Senator Sharon Hewitt, and Representative Richard Nelson all received single-digit amounts.

Landry has already received many high profile endorsements including one from Donald Trump Jr. in 2022. Landry received a very controversial endorsement from the Louisiana Republican party last November, which has led to led to many attacks towards him since.

Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, who is not running and will instead seek re-election to his current job, stirred controversy when he trashed the LAGOP’s Landry endorsement.

Criticizing the Louisiana Republican Party’s move, Nungesser said, “Unfortunately, the extremists have hijacked the party, and that’s not what the party was built on.”

Fox 8 analyst Mike Sherman says that Landry’s “far right” position could help a perceived more moderate candidate such as Schroder. Schroder has touted his experience gained as Treasurer to show why he is fit to be the leading Republican candidate. But polls indicate Schroder’s support hasn’t materialized, possibly because his base of support is conservative voters who are lining up behind Landry instead.

Other Republicans still weighing candidacy in the race include U.S. Representative Garret Graves and Louisiana House Speaker Clay Schexnayder. While both have been encouraged to run, Schexnayder will likely decline if Graves makes the decision to.

“We’re taking a look at it,” Schexnayder told USA Today Network. “A lot depends on what Garret Graves does.”

Republican state legislators Sharon Hewitt and Richard Nelson from the Senate and House, respectively, are also announced as candidates, as is independent and former Democrat lawyer Hunter Lundy.

Landry, Schroder, Hewitt and Nelson appeared yesterday at the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry’s Annual Meeting for a forum; each gave a five-minute speech and answered questions from LABI president Stephen Waguespack for eight minutes afterward.

She is asked about education first. Hewitt says she wants to focus on literacy and get young kids reading sooner. Also she says there needs to be more technology in classrooms to keep up with the times

— Shannon Heckt (@ShannonHeckt) March 2, 2023

On ITEP and legal actions, Hewitt says LA is heavy on lawsuits. She says there is much more work to be done on tort reform. She wants to get local input on ITEP and be part of the talks on any of the changes. She says biz want something predictable

— Shannon Heckt (@ShannonHeckt) March 2, 2023

“What we have in this state is a lack of leadership”. Landry says he will be the best for a business partner for the state. And says his law enforcement background sets him up to address the crime issues

— Shannon Heckt (@ShannonHeckt) March 2, 2023

In the question portion. Landry says parents have been blocked out of making decisions for their kids education. He says taxpayer money should follow the child, this is in support of school choice.

— Shannon Heckt (@ShannonHeckt) March 2, 2023

On insurance, he previously could only get insurance through Citizens. He says the system is not working and is “absolutely in a crisis”.

— Shannon Heckt (@ShannonHeckt) March 2, 2023

He hits hard on his move to eliminate the income tax to make Louisiana competitive with the surrounding states

— Shannon Heckt (@ShannonHeckt) March 2, 2023

When asked about why the state is losing young people, Nelson says jobs are the issue. He says the question is how do you bring more jobs to Louisiana. He says there needs to be a competitive tax code to bring people back

— Shannon Heckt (@ShannonHeckt) March 2, 2023

Nelson says ESAs are good but there are 700k kids in school and 95% will go to the schools they are in now. He pushes his reading bill as what would work better

— Shannon Heckt (@ShannonHeckt) March 2, 2023

Lastly, @JohnSchroderLA is speaking. In his opening he says repeat and violent criminals should be put in jail. He mentions the drug and mental health crisis and wants to reform criminal justice. #lagov pic.twitter.com/1wdWGzuvwH

— Shannon Heckt (@ShannonHeckt) March 2, 2023

He hits on education on teachers having their hands tied and needing more support. He also pushes community college education for trade careers

— Shannon Heckt (@ShannonHeckt) March 2, 2023

On tax reform, he says you have to replace the revenue from the income tax. “It’s something that we have to do but it’s not something that happens over night”. He says the sales tax is already high.

— Shannon Heckt (@ShannonHeckt) March 2, 2023

On crime, he says he loved his career in law enforcement. He says you have to deter crime because you’re not going to beat it.

— Shannon Heckt (@ShannonHeckt) March 2, 2023