Louisiana gubernatorial runoff candidate Kathleen Blanco of Lafayette greets supporters Friday afternoon at the Evangeline Oak in St. Martinville. (Louisiana Gannett News Photo/John Rowland)

mhasten@lafayette.gannett.com

ST. MARTINVILLE - As Huey Long did in 1927, Kathleen Blanco of Lafayette brought a caravan of supporters to this city of about 7,000 Friday to stand near the Evangeline Oak and pound the opposition in a quest to be governor of Louisiana.

And as Long did, Blanco urged the predominantly Cajun populace of St. Martin Parish to defy any elements and go to the polls election day.

"So much has happened right here under this Evangeline Oak," Blanco told about 50 supporters, prompting Franklin Mayor Sam Jones to recall the tale of Emmeline Labiche waiting under the tree for her long-lost love, Louis Arceneaux, the basis for the Longfellow poem Evangeline.

Long chose the setting to remind St. Martinville residents that none of the things promised to them by previous governors had come true. Blanco used it to say how gubernatorial rival Bobby Jindal of Baton Rouge cut Medicaid and other services when he was secretary of the state Department of Health and Hospitals and how St. Martin Parish needs jobs.

The St. Martinville stop was typical of the series of rallies held as Blanco's caravan of luxury motor homes traveled at 6:45 a.m. from Lafayette to Abbeville in Vermilion Parish, to Crowley in Acadia Parish, to Eunice and Opelousas in St. Landry Parish and finished with a 4:30 p.m. rally outside her childhood home of New Iberia in Iberia Parish.

Crowds ranging from 50 to 125 supporters met her at each spot where mayors, sheriffs and parish officials held receptions. Her campaign staff handed out signs and T-shirts before she delivered speeches primarily urging supporters to go to the polls Nov. 15.

"You can have a lot of people for you. But if you don't go to the polls, we can't win the race," she said on the front steps of the St. Landry Courthouse.

In an interview conducted on her bus rolling down a bumpy highway between Eunice and Opelousas, Blanco said she is concentrating on Acadiana because she needs a strong win in her primary base. "I'm worried about getting the vote out."

Less than 50 percent of voters went to the polls in the Oct. 4 primary. "With a lot fewer people on the ballot, with only a few local races, there's a natural tendency to have fewer people to vote in the runoff unless you give them a reason to be excited."

Blanco carried all of the parishes in Acadiana except her current home, Lafayette, a conservative island in the middle of a predominantly Democratic region. She placed second behind Jindal.

"We saw the trends, so we got prepared for that. Certainly, I was disappointed that someone they barely knew was chosen over me. We'll focus more heavily on Lafayette Parish this time."

The black vote, which traditionally has gone to a Democrat, could play a vital role in this election, particularly if there's a low turnout as predicted. Several blacks interviewed at Blanco's rallies said they're not finding much election interest in their communities.

Mary Morgan, a school crossing guard in Crowley, said she and most of her family will vote but there's no feeling of urgency among most people. One reason, she said, is that she and others are having trouble getting needed medical services and elected officials aren't helping them.

"Why is it so hard for some people to get it?"

St. Landry sheriff's deputy Arthur Harris believes blacks will vote because "she's (Blanco's) our candidate."