Louisiana Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco of Lafayette speaks with local and statewide media during a stop Friday at Shreveport's Downtown Airport. She and Republican rival Bobby Jindal of Baton Rouge were making last-minute tours of the state before today's election. (Louisiana Gannett News Photo/Shane Bevel)

By Louis Rom

lrom@theadvertiser.com

Gubernatorial hopeful Kathleen Blanco, emboldened by polls that show her closing the gap on Republican Bobby Jindal of Baton Rouge, crisscrossed the state Friday urging strident supporters to go to the polls today and seeking to win over a few fence-sitters.

The lieutenant governor ended Friday as it began - in her hometown, Lafayette - but not before stumping across the state in a tiny jet, touching down in Morgan City, Lake Charles, Shreveport and Alexandria.

"Do I look as exhausted as I feel?" Blanco says to a staffer before deplaning at Lafayette Regional Airport shortly after 5 p.m.

Weary or not, Blanco heads to Downtown Alive!, a weekly free concert series in Lafayette that offers yet another opportunity for a gubernatorial candidate to press the flesh.

That stop is the last in a whirlwind day that started with an 8 a.m. interview on Lafayette's KPEL radio, where she and Jindal crossed paths for at least the second time in recent days.

Blanco is joined on the daylong tour by Attorney General Richard Ieyoub, who finished third in the Oct. 4 primary, his wife, Caprice, and state Rep. Jerry Luke LeBlanc, D-Lafayette.

Between flights, staffers take telephone calls from campaign workers spread throughout the state. Some talk about "overnights" - the latest campaign polls which show Blanco narrowing the gap with Jindal. One works feverishly to learn if U.S. Sen. John Breaux has received the script he's supposed to read for a telephone bank message set to go out today.

In Morgan City, a group of 40 or so supporters greet Blanco at the St. Mary Seniors Center.

"Good morning, governor," says Frank Soprano, a St. Mary councilman and supporter.

"God, she's got to win," says Olive Stephens, a local resident. Seconds later, Stephens inches close to Blanco and says, "I gotta kiss you" and does so on the cheek.

Then, Ieyoub introduces Blanco and says why he is there. "I've been able to put aside my disappointment in not being in the runoff and support Kathleen Blanco ... because Louisiana needs a candidate with compassion."

Blanco, looking right at home, tells the crowd she understands why they are concerned about their future. "No one should have to choose between food and medicine."

Moments later, almost as if on cue, a woman in the front row tells of her struggle to get pain medication she desperately needs. "I have to beg for my medicine," says Lula Gaudet, an Amelia resident who suffers from carpel tunnel syndrome.

A small group of veterans and union members greet Blanco when she arrives at Lake Charles Regional Airport. Public officials, including state Sen. Willie Mount, D-Lake Charles and, later, Claude "Buddy" Leach, who finished fourth in the primary, also attend the rally.

By this time, Blanco, 60, is on a roll. She strays now and then from her scripted speech, occasionally stumbling. But it doesn't seem to bother the crowd. Words like real, friendly and genuine flow from people's mouths.

Lake Charles proves to be the longest stop of the day. There, Blanco, staffers and the media lunch on sandwiches, chips and soft drinks.

Moments after the noon news, a staffer comes in to tell everyone that Wayne Parent, the LSU political scientist, predicts a Blanco victory.

The optimism now is contagious.

Then, it's off to Shreveport, where Blanco is greeted by the largest crowd of the day, maybe 100 people. Her jet pulls up almost curbside, barely 50 feet from the lobby of Downtown Airport.

Outside, 20 or so people greet Blanco, who seems to embrace each crowd, regardless of its size, with the same warmth and appreciation. "We're gonna do it," says Jay Covington of Shreveport.

Inside, Blanco visibly is moved by a throng of supporters.

Marshals from throughout the state support Blanco although the marshals' association cannot endorse anyone, Shreveport City Marshal Johnny Wyatt says. "For me, personally, it's because she knows where North Louisiana is."

Two Jindal fans stick around to hear Blanco speak.

"After today, I have a new respect for Mrs. Blanco," says Michele Ringle of Bossier Parish "She has just a wonderful heart. And this time, (she) did not sway me but next time ...."

Blanco, speaking nearby with friends, says, "Tomorrow is the end of a long, journey."

"Or the beginning," a fan chimes in.

Under an airport hangar in Alexandria, 80 or so people, including Abigail Carruth, greet Blanco. The 5-year-old girl - in a tone that is half-question, half-statement - says to Blanco, "You'll take care of us?"

Blanco nods, then stops for a photo with the girl, but not before helping the youngster turn her "Blanco" sign right side up.

Blanco takes to the lectern again, telling the crowd she empathizes with those hurt by the state's foundering economy.

"I know what it's like to have to stretch a dollar," says the mother of five. "I know what it's like to find out that suddenly the money for new sneakers has to go to the doctor."

Nearing the end of her day, on the trip back to Lafayette, Blanco reflects on this and her other campaigns.

"We each have a destiny. And whatever (mine) is ... I want it to be something pure."