Correction: An earlier version of this story listed DOW Jones CEO Almar Latour on the Business Leadership Team of the NewsCorp PAC. While he is a member of the NewsCorp business leadership team, Big Easy Magazine has learned he is not affiliated with the PAC. We apologize for this error.

The next statewide election isn’t until November 2023,  but that’s not stopping Attorney General Jeff Landry or Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser from getting a head start on fundraising. According to reports filed last week, Landry leads the way, ending the 2020 fundraising period with more than $2 million. Nungesser had nearly $1.5 million, but that included $500,000 in personal money used to boost his fundraising total.

Both men are considering running for the Governor’s seat in 2023 when Gov. John Bel Edwards’ term is up. With no Democratic challengers currently in play, the field is wide open, and both men are attracting some interesting donors.

Landry is a staunch Trump supporter who is currently facing criticism for his lawsuit against an Advocate reporter seeking public records related to a sexual harassment complaint involving one of his top aides. Among Landry’s top donors are several national-level political action committees (PACs):

• $10,000 from Ponchartrain Capital, a New Orleans investment company
• $8,000 from Walmart
• $5,000 from America’s Future, a pro-Trump conservative SuperPAC
• $5,000 from The Presidential Coalition, a group dedicated to ensuring “principled conservative Republican leadership at all levels of government”
• $5,000 from NORPAC LLC, a political action committee committed to strengthening support for Israel, particularly focused on generating foreign aid
• $2,000 from News Corp PAC, a media-focused PAC lead by Rupert Murdoch.

Landry previously supported a State of Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn the electoral votes in four states that certified for Joe Biden in the 2020 election, helping to further the idea that the 2020 election was not legitimate. Later, Landry was one of only three Attorneys General who failed to sign on to a bipartisan letter condemning the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Instead, Landry penned his own letter criticizing his Democratic colleagues for not condemning violence and looting during the Black Lives Matter protests that took place over the summer of 2020.

While Nungesser failed to attract attention from any national-level super PACs, he did receive several very large corporate donations, including $10,000 each from Cajun Conti, Capdeville Title Corp., Rain Commodities, Texas Brine Company, Dore Partners, DP and LLC, Global Resources, INC, and MedLogic, LLC.

Editor’s note: The headline has been updated to more accurately reflect the story’s angle.