Downer, Landry land runoff spot

New Iberia attorney Jeff Landry nearly won the District 3 Congressional Republican nomination Saturday but fell approximately 200 votes short and will now face Hunt Downer in an Oct. 2 runoff for the congressional seat.

Landry won 49.6 percent of the vote and Downer took 36.1 percent. Kristian Magar, who operated on a smaller budget, finished with 14.3 percent, taking enough votes to force the runoff.

“I thought the voting went great, I was very pleased,” Landry said in a phone interview. “The voters spoke overwhelmingly in favor of us due to the fact that the spread between me and the next opponent was in double digits. People are looking for a fresh face, they don’t want to send a career politician to Washington.”

As far as keeping voters focused on his message, Landry said it was a job well done.

“I think we’ve done a great job at keeping the voters focused and getting the message to the voters and that shows in the margins, we haven’t gone off the message whereas some candidates may have,” he said.

Landry also stated he would run this race just like any other – looking ahead and not behind.

“I would like everyone who is interested in changing the direction of this country – if they’re concerned about jobs, the economy and deficit – I certainly would ask them to support our campaign,” he said.

Downer was unavailable for comment Monday, but his campaign manager, Buddy Boe, outlined his plans for the runoff. Boe said their first priority is to correct “gross exaggeration and misrepresentation.”

“It’s our job, No. 1, to make sure the misrepresentations of his record are corrected,” Boe said. “We appealed to the supporters that choose that third candidate, Mr. Magar, who ran an honorable race, and go from that point, after we’ve corrected the record, and run on the issues and on a fair, level playing field against Mr. Landry on the issues that matter most to the residents of south Louisiana.”

Although Downer almost didn’t make it to the runoff, Boe said Downer’s staff is excited about their position.

“We’re focused, we’re excited. We know the numbers are what they are, but in those numbers is a strong base of committed people to restoring America and who believe in a candidate that has repeatedly, over a lifetime, shown to them that he has been the guy who no matter what his role was.”

Magar said in a phone interview the people should decide whom to vote for on their volition and did not endorse either candidate.

“I think the voters need to look at the candidates that remain, just like when I was in the race, and look to see who they feel is the most virtuous and honest man and select that person,” he said.

Magar operated with a small budget and could not promote his name rapidly enough. He placed a $1,000 cap on cash donations in order to maintain his independence had he won.

“If we had more time, I think we would have continued to grow,” Magar said. “It wasn’t that people didn’t want to vote for us as much as it was that a lot of them didn’t know who we were because we didn’t have the same kind of money to do the advertising and so forth. We give it our best shot and we move on.”

While he is not sure whether or not he will run for office again, Magar plans to stay involved with the Tea Party and use his newfound experience to help other campaigns.

“I never thought I’d run for office, much less an office like U.S. Congress,” he said. “Now that we’ve done it, I know how to do it. I feel like I could help candidates run a grassroots-type campaign and be very successful. Whether or not I ever put my name on the ballot again, I don’t know. I’ll have to see what the future holds.”

Both candidates will compete for Magar’s votes, but Downer, who is based in Houma, needs to see a stronger voter turnout from his home parish.

Lafourche Parish had a 28.7 percent voter turnout, compared to 9.1 percent for Terrebonne. Downer took 63.8 percent of the 5,709 votes cast in Terrebonne, and Landry had 45.8 percent of the 3,326 votes in Lafourche.

The deadline to register or make changes concerning registration in time for the Oct. 2 runoff is today.