Updated: 5:46 p.m. | Among some Republicans in Louisiana, Republican Sen. David Vitter's candidacy for governor is drawing comparisons to an election with an unpopular nominee more than two decades ago that divided the party.
“What I keep hearing from folks – neighbors and other parents at the school – is, ‘this is going to be the first time since 1991 that I vote Democrat. I just can’t vote for that guy,’” said one Louisiana Republican operative. The Pelican State – with its free-for-all, jungle primary system – has a unique history of troubled nominees and intra-party feuds. During the 1991 race, for example, state Rep. David Duke – a man who openly associated with Nazi groups and served as the grand wizard of Ku Kluk Klan during the 1970s – was the party's standard-bearer for governor.