02/21/2014
Edwin Edwards, a former four-term governor of Louisiana who served eight years in federal prison for racketeering, is considering a leap back into the political fray with a run for Congress in 2014.
"I'm just figuring out all the legalities and how to set up a super PAC, and then I'm going," Edwards, 86, told Bloomberg News in a telephone interview on Wednesday.
Edwards’ wife Trina, 35, later clarified with the New Orleans Times-Picayune that her husband is weighing a bid but has not yet made a final decision.
“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."
In his interview with Bloomberg, Edwards said he’s the “only hope” for Democrats to capture the state’s sixth congressional district. The current congressman from that district, GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy, is vacating his seat to run for the U.S. Senate.
Edwards downplayed his peculiar set of liabilities, saying voters who couldn’t support someone with his criminal past “wouldn’t have voted for me anyway.”
He also invited anyone who wants to make an issue of his age to have at it. “I hope that’s all they talk about,” he said.
Edwards, who previously served in the House between 1965 and 1972, said Capitol Hill is in need of some experienced operators to help break the logjam. “They need people there who know how to get things done,” he said.
Last year, Edwards and his young wife starred in a reality show for A&E called “The Governor’s Wife,” which focused largely on Trina’s efforts to adjust to a new marriage with her ex-con, ex-politician husband. The show ended in November 2013 after a spate of poor ratings.
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