From The Times-Picayune:

Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne announced Tuesday that he will not challenge fellow Republican David Vitter in the U.S. Senate race, sparing the incumbent what could have been an expensive primary battle.

Dardenne had been mulling the race for months and said he received encouragement from supporters, but decided recently that “my service to Louisiana is best from Baton Rouge, not from Washington.”

The news came on the same day as a new independent poll showing Vitter with an 18-point lead, his largest to date, over the presumptive Democratic nominee, U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, of Napoleonville. The telephone survey of 500 likely voters by Rasmussen Reports showed Vitter with a 53 percent to 35 percent margin over Melancon, with 8 percent undecided and 4 percent preferring another candidate. The margin of error is 4.5 percent.

Read the Rest…