Edwin Edwards still deciding on House run

Disgraced former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards (D) and his wife may not be on the same page over his potential run for Congress.

A Bloomberg report quoted Edwards, who served eight years of a 10-year jail sentence after being convicted of racketeering, as saying he was finalizing the formalities for a run in Rep. Bill Cassidy’s (R-La.) heavily Republican district.

{mosads}”I’m just figuring out all the legalities and how to set up a super PAC, and then I’m going,” he told Bloomberg. Coordinating with a super-PAC could be a campaign finance violation. 

“I’m the only hope the Democrats have here,” he added. Cassidy’s Baton Rouge district gave Mitt Romney 66 percent in the 2012 presidential race. 

But his wife, Trina, told the Times-Picayune that he hasn’t actually decided yet.

“I was there when he was on that call and he did not say that (he had decided to run),” she said. “He only said he was considering running. … He had definitely said he had not decided.”

He later reiterated to The Advocate that he hadn’t yet decided.

“I’m looking at it, and we’ll see when I can make a determination one way or the other,” he said.

According to The Advocate, he sounded slightly irritated about the idea that he would tell a wire service about his plans, and that “Edwards said any announcement will come before a media-packed audience.”

Edwards is known for his larger-than-life personality and love of the spotlight — he and his wife starred in a short-lived reality television show.

And he may be right when he says Democrats have no better option in the 6th District, which is open due to Cassidy’s run for Senate. He’s the state’s longest-serving Democrat, having been elected four times, and previously represented Louisiana’s 7th District in Congress.

Seven Republicans are running, while Democrats have only a local real estate broker, Richard Dean Lieberman, in the race.

The Republican candidates include state Sen. Dan Claitor, businessmen Paul Dietzel, Craig McCulloch and Charles Thomas, tax attorney Cassie Felder, retired Navy captain Bob Bell and Navy veteran Norman Clark.