Jeremy Alford and David Jacobs: Dems want to know what JBE will do

If you see “John Bel Edwards — Senate” signs around Baton Rouge or online, don’t get too excited. They’re not exactly official. 
The conventional wisdom continues to be that Edwards is not going to run for the U.S. Senate, though as of this writing, he has not publicly declared his intentions one way or the other. Meanwhile, other Democrats who might otherwise be running don’t want to waste time and money mounting a race against the former governor that they can’t win. 
Logan Wolf, a Baton Rouge-based Democrat who volunteered for both of Edwards’ campaigns for governor, decided to give JBE a little nudge. He’s urging Edwards, in a way that he hopes is respectful, to either announce he’s running, or announce he’s not. 
He took the logo from Edwards’ last campaign, edited it on his phone to say “Senate” instead of “Governor,” and planned to have two yard signs printed for himself and a fellow like-minded activist. 
He made the order about two weeks ago, though for several days he didn’t have a chance to pick them up. While they were still at the shop, he got a call from Politico. 
“I don’t know how it got to Politico,” Wolf said “I don’t know how it made it to Twitter.”
He has heard, but cannot confirm, that someone associated with U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy saw the signs and spread the word in their circle. Lots of political folks are having signs made, so perhaps someone just caught a glimpse. 
KPEL radio personality Joe Cunningham took to social media on Friday to say he had gotten word that Edwards was running. He didn’t cite any sources, so it’s possible he knows something the rest of us don’t, but it appears that the chatter can be traced back to Wolf’s signs. 
In the unlikely event that Edwards does run for Senate, Louisiana political pundits generally say he would be a decided underdog. Serving in Congress is a more inherently partisan role than being governor, and the Democratic brand is weak in most of the state. (You can read more about his chances, and what the focus on Edwards means for the Democratic Party, in LaPolitics.)
But Wolf sees a path to victory, noting Edwards’ two statewide wins. Donald Trump might be popular in Louisiana, but his campaign trips to the state were not enough to dethrone the incumbent. 
“To have a positive approval rating in this state as a Democratic governor is a damn hard thing to do, and he did it,” Wolf said. 
So John Bel would be his first choice. But if he’s not interested, Wolf would like to see him officially declare his non-candidacy to give someone like Sen. Jay Luneau a fair opening. 
“I hope the former governor is not too pissed off at me for doing this,” he said. “We’re really ready for him to tell us if he wants to run or not.”
And if he doesn’t do so soon, Wolf’s self-funded nudge campaign might continue for a bit longer. 
“You might see some signs start popping up around the city of Baton Rouge, and around Amite as well,” Wolf said. Amite is Edwards’ hometown.
For more Louisiana political news, visit www. LaPolitics.com or follow Alford on X @ LaPoliticsNow.