BATON ROUGE, La. — The bitter contest between two Republicans seeking to be second in line to the governor promises to be nasty until the end, with the campaigns continuing to exchange attacks leading into Saturday's election.
Both Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne and his challenger, Billy Nungesser, accuse each other of lying, distortions and shady tactics. When defending the attacks, each man says he's showcasing the other's record and explaining his own.
Nungesser claims Dardenne is exaggerating the cuts he's made since becoming lieutenant governor 11 months ago, criticizes Dardenne as a career politician. He also slams a series of taxes supported by Dardenne when he was a state senator.
"He's been at the public trough his whole life. This guy, it's time for him to go away," Nungesser said. "Insanity is electing the same old people over and over and expecting different results."
Dardenne criticizes Nungesser for a tax lien against his business, a federal investigation of contracts Nungesser approved after he took office and his donations to Democratic candidates.
Nungesser has repeatedly hit Dardenne for accepting a $30,000 pay raise given to all statewide elected officials. But Dardenne's campaign noted this week that Nungesser didn't reject a $28,000 pay raise that took effect for the parish president's office this year.
"Billy doesn't want to talk about his record, but he's perfectly content to distort mine," Dardenne said.
Besides the back-and-forth criticism, the two candidates have different views of the office.
Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish best known for his vocal criticism of the federal response to the massive Gulf Coast oil spill, says the office should expand beyond its tourism focus and involve economic development and coastal restoration.
"We need a lieutenant governor who will get involved on every front," he said.
Dardenne disagrees, saying marketing the state and boosting the multibillion dollar tourism industry is a full-time job.
"This position has value. It is the person who is the ambassador for Louisiana," he said.
The office has attracted more attention this election cycle.
The governor's race seems largely decided, with Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal on track to an easy election to a second term with no well-funded opposition, leaving the lieutenant governor's race to grab more focus.
Also, though Jindal's said he intends to stick around for another four years if re-elected, his national political ambitions have raised concerns that Jindal might not complete a second term. The lieutenant governor would serve the remainder of the term if Jindal walks away from the job.
Jindal hasn't endorsed either candidate in the race, saying he gets along well with both Republican contenders.
Besides being second-in-line to the governor, Louisiana's lieutenant governor is the overseer of the state Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, which manages several museums, state parks, the state library and an annual book festival.
Dardenne is a former state senator and secretary of state from Baton Rouge. He was elected lieutenant governor less than a year ago in a special election to fill the vacant position. Dardenne's picked up the endorsements of several major hospitality industry groups, and he credits his time in office with cutting employees and increasing tourism jobs in a state where tourism is a top industry.
Nungesser, whose father once led the state GOP, became the face of frustration last year to the federal government's response to the BP oil spill. His parish was among the most heavily oiled places, and Nungesser was front-and-center in pressing for more assistance in the cleanup.
Dardenne was ahead by double digits in a recent independent poll.
"I'm very comfortable with where we are, and where I am with voters," Dardenne said.