Louisiana GOP state Treasurer John Kennedy announced Thursday he will challenge Sen. Mary Landrieu, who is considered the most vulnerable Democratic senator up for reelection in 2008.

In a statement on his website, Kennedy, who switched parties in August, said he would file the necessary paperwork to run for the Senate. He said he would run an aggressive campaign on how he would help move Louisiana forward “in tandem with our new reform leadership in Baton
Rouge.”

Landrieu is in her second term in the Senate, and won reelection in 2002 with 52 percent of the vote compared to Republican Suzanne Haik Terrell’s 48 percent. Landrieu comes from a well-known political family in Louisiana — her father was the New Orleans mayor — but is considered vulnerable partly because President Bush twice carried Louisiana. In 2004, he won with 57 percent of the vote.

In addition, the state’s population has changed since Hurricane Katrina, with many black voters in New Orleans, who tended to vote for Democrats, moving out of state.

Landrieu is well-positioned financially for a tough campaign.  According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), she has more than $3.3 million in cash on hand. Kennedy, by contrast, has $37,500 in debt, according to the FEC, and asked supporters for financial help in his open letter.

“Your financial contribution today will help us lay the groundwork for next year’s campaign, which most national observers say will be one of the highest profile and competitive U.S. Senate races in the
nation,” the letter said.

Kennedy’s move to the Democratic Party earlier this year was seen as a sign that he intended to take on Landrieu. In his letter to supporters, Kennedy pointed to a poll conducted by Zogby International that he said showed him leading Landrieu 45 percent to 38. The poll has a 3.2 percent margin of error.