LABI president poised to enter Louisiana governor's race

BATON ROUGE (Louisiana Illuminator) - The head of one of Louisiana's most powerful business groups is expected to enter the governor's race on Thursday, according to a handful of lobbyists and political operatives who spoke on the condition of anonymity Monday night (March 6). Stephen Waguespack, who runs the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI), has started to tell board members of his organization that he's entering the statewide race. The Republican served as Gov. Bobby Jindal's chief of staff and was a member of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. He's been leading LABI since 2013. Waguespack did not return phone calls or texts made to his personal phone Monday. If Waguespack is running, that likely means U.S. Rep. Garret Graves is not going to enter the race. Graves and Waguespack are friends, and Waguespack wasn't expected to enter the race if Graves decided to run.