Rare coin dealer Paul Hollis will announce Monday that he will run against state Treasurer John Kennedy in the Republican primary for the right to take on Sen. Mary Landrieu (D).

In a statement made to coinlink.com, a Web site for coin-collecting news, Hollis said, “I want to lead the fight to bring responsibility back to America’s fiscal and monetary policies to reduce our tax burden and banish regulatory red tape to the dust bin of history.”

Hollis, the son of former Louisiana state Sen. Ken Hollis, will run to the right of Kennedy, who switched parties last year before winning a third term as state treasurer. Hollis, who is wealthy, is expected to self-fund most of his campaign.

“My entry into the Republican primary will make this race not only more interesting, but more competitive as well,” Hollis said.

DCCC Wastes No Time Frontlining Cazayoux

With state and national Republicans already talking about making the Congressional career of the House’s newest Democrat short-lived, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Wednesday named Rep. Don Cazayoux to its “Frontline” program, which raises money for vulnerable incumbents.

Cazayoux, who was sworn in on Tuesday, won his special election over the weekend with less than 50 percent of the vote in a district that had been in GOP hands for more than three decades. Both parties’ campaign committees spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the race, and by the end of the contest Cazayoux had no less than four conservative groups running attack ads against him.

The man whom Cazayoux beat in his primary this spring, state Rep. Michael Jackson (D), has said that he is considering challenging Cazayoux again in the primary or perhaps as an independent this fall.

“The Frontline Program will give Congressman Cazayoux an added boost so he can continue focusing on the issues his constituents care most about,” DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen (Md.) said in a statement.

— John McArdle