St. Tammany Parish Council member Kathy Seiden has hired a Trump-affiliated pollster and is exploring a U.S. Senate run to join a growing field of candidates challenging Sen. Bill Cassidy.

"This is something we're taking very seriously and will be making an official announcement soon," Seiden, a Republican who is in her first term on the St. Tammany Parish Council, said in a statement Thursday. Seiden said she has hired pollster Adam Geller, who has worked on all three of President Donald Trump's campaigns, to look at the race.

Seiden would join a group of major GOP opponents to Cassidy, including state Sen. Blake Miguez of New Iberia, Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmetta of Metairie and state Treasurer John Fleming of Minden.

State Rep. Julie Emerson, a Republican from Carencro, a

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