By DAN JUNEAU

It appears the 2003 governor’s race is shaping up to be a marathon, not a dash.

Most governors’ races begin to stir interest in the spring of the election year, heat up in the summer, and begin to shake out after Labor Day. That may not be the case for the 2003 race, even though a contested U.S. Senate race precedes it this fall.

What is making the 2003 gubernatorial race rather unorthodox is Gov. Mike Foster’s early anointment of one of the potential candidates.

The governor has made no bones about the fact that he plans to be a major factor in determining who the next governor will be. According to informed sources, Foster has indicated he will support former Speaker of the House Hunt Downer in the race.

If that is the case, I am sure Downer will welcome Foster’s support, as would any of the candidates in the race.

While the governor’s favorable ratings with voters remains high well into his second term, his recent rather dismal record of endorsing successful candidates won’t likely create enough fear in the other candidates to drive them out of the race.

The governor’s early involvement in the race will do two things. First, it will assist in focusing early and constant attention on the election that likely would not have occurred at this point without his presence. Second, and perhaps more important, his early support for one of the candidates will undoubtedly result in the other major candidates returning fire at him. There is early evidence that this trend has already begun.

The most celebrated feud going on in Louisiana politics at the moment is between Foster and Congressman David Vitter (R-Metairie).

Vitter, an all but announced candidate for governor in 2003, has wheeled up heavy artillery to go after the governor over his signing a compact with the Jena Choctaws to locate a full-fledged casino right at the Louisiana-Texas border in Calcasieu Parish.

The recent announcement of the compact came as a surprise to many elected officials and set off a firestorm of controversy in the Lake Charles area. Lake Charles’ casinos are already greatly impacted by the existing Indian casino in Kinder and the new slot machine casino at Delta Downs in Vinton.

Needless to say, many in Lake Charles were not happy to learn that a new Indian casino was being located next to the Texas border.

Other elected officials are concerned that the new casino, which will pay the state 15.5 percent of net revenues, could actually result in less gambling revenue for the state, since it may take business away from the Lake Charles riverboats that pay 21.5 percent of their gross take. Would Vitter be attacking Foster’s Indian compact if the governor’s endorsement was still up in the air?

Who knows, but Foster’s support for Downer certainly won’t act to restrain Vitter in any way from involving himself in this issue.

Another figure in the Choctaw War is Attorney General Richard Ieyoub.

Ieyoub is another unannounced but likely candidate for governor. He has made known his displeasure that his office was not consulted before the compact was signed.

For many years, Ieyoub was a very popular District Attorney for Calcasieu Parish.

In each of his campaigns for statewide office, he could always count on strong support from the Lake Charles area.

The Attorney General made his own pilgrimage to Washington to discuss the compact with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and he was not there to give it his blessing.

While Foster has every right to support a candidate at any point in the governor’s race, the other candidates have every right to come firing back at him. Foster’s early move to influence the race may or may not work, but it will certainly make the race a marathon, not a dash.

And, it will likely draw additional heat to the governor’s initiatives during his last two years in office.

DAN JUNEAU is the president of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.