You can add Eric Skrmetta to the growing list of Republicans challenging Bill Cassidy for the Republican Senate nomination.
The New Orleans-area public service commissioner announced his candidacy in a video posted on Friday.
Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says while Skrmetts may be relatively known to voters in and around New Orleans, now his task is to gain name recognition in other parts of the state.
“He wouldn’t influence a statewide poll at this point in time,” says Pinsonat, “but if he wants to put up that kind of money or raise that kind of money, he’ll be a viable candidate.”
Skrmetta joins State Treasurer John Fleming and State Senator Blake Miguez in launching primary bids against Cassidy.
Two recent reports show very different findings.
On the one hand, a recent poll by JMC Analytics and Polling commissioned by the Fleming campaign shows Fleming leading Cassidy handily in a head-to-head matchup and has Cassidy leading in a crowded field, albeit with only about 30-percent support, which is very low for an incumbent.
On the other hand, the latest campaign finance numbers show Cassidy torching the field with $9 million on hand, compared to $2.1 million for Fleming and $1.7 for Miguez.
In fact, Cassidy’s $2.3 million in PAC contributions exceed Fleming’s and Miguez’s total cash on hand.
Pinsonat says despite the addition of a third primary challenger, he does not see Cassidy finishing any worse than second in a primary election, and that would be the case even if anyone else joins the race.
“The possibility of him not making the runoff would be pretty shocking,” Pinsonat says. “It’s possible, but I wouldn’t bet against him at this point in time.”
Pinsonat says with four prominent Republicans now in the race, another big question is – who will the Democrats put forth?
“I think they should have someone,” says Pinsonat. “It’s good for them to have a candidate running around talking about what Democrats will do differently.”
So far, no prominent Democrat has entered the race.
