BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – Treasurer John Kennedy, a popular state politician who once considered running for governor, is instead supporting U.S. David Vitter for the job in this fall’s election.

Vitter announced the endorsement from his fellow Republican at an event Monday.

In a statement declaring his support for the GOP senator, Kennedy described Vitter as a leader who has been willing to tackle difficult issues.

Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal is term-limited and cannot run for re-election.

Two other major Republican candidates are in the governor’s race: Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle and Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne. One major Democratic candidate has announced for the Oct. 24 ballot, state Rep. John Bel Edwards.

Kennedy is running for re-election, but he is considered a possible U.S. Senate candidate if Vitter wins the governor’s race.