Louisiana Senate race for Vitter's seat balloons to 21

Louisiana election officers are going to need bigger voting machines this fall if the U.S. Senate race keeps this pace up.

Six more candidates on Thursday joined the already crowded field jockeying to replace retiring Sen. David Vitter. That brings the total to 21 with one day left in the three-day qualifying period.

Most of the big names who have been campaigning for weeks signed up Wednesday, including U.S. Reps. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, and John Fleming, R-Minden, Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy, Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell, a Democrat, and New Orleans lawyer Caroline Fayard, also a Democrat. Former New Orleans congressman Joseph Cao, a Republican, also joined the race.

One notable absence: Retired Col. Rob Maness, R-Madisonville, who is attending the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. He has said he will qualify Friday.

Read more: http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/07/louisiana_senate_race_for_vitt.html