Late last week, former Rep. John Cooksey (R-La.) was reportedly interested in taking on Vitter in the primary. But the former 5th district Congressman announced Monday that he is not running, in a statement that included some nuance.
"While I do not always agree with David Vitter's position on social issues, I believe David Vitter does a good job representing the people of Louisiana on fiscal matters," Cooksey said in a statement to the Concordia Sentinel. "If David Vitter emerges as the Republican nominee in the 2010 Senate race in Louisiana, I will vote for him."
I think we all know which "social issue" in particular Cooksey is referring to. In more good news for Vitter, Democratic Rep. Charlie Melancon says that he's probably not going to run:
Despite the urging of state and national Democrats, local Congressman Charlie Melancon says that, at least for now, he has decided against running for the U.S. Senate in 2010. [...]
"Never say never," Melancon told The Courier Thursday, "but I'm not contemplating a run at this time."
Democrats still have a number of other potential candidates on the table, including ex-Rep. Chris John and Shaw Group CEO Jim Bernhard. I remain convinced that Republicans have a more-than-good shot at retaining this seat, but we'll have some raw data to look at soon: Daily Kos will release primary and general election polling numbers from Louisiana later this week.
