Say it isn’t so:

WASHINGTON (CNN) — New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is seriously considering a Louisiana gubernatorial bid, a political intimate of Nagin tells CNN.

According to public records and his campaign treasurer, the two-term Democrat has raised more than a half-million dollars in campaign contributions since he was re-elected in 2006, even though Nagin can’t run for mayor again. (New Orleans limits mayors to two terms.)

The mayor’s senior staff members say Nagin is often approached on the street and asked if he’ll run for governor, but they say he just laughs off the suggestion. At the mayor’s State of the City speech Wednesday, many local politicians told CNN they’d heard the rumors.

If Nagin does decide to run for the state’s highest office, it could be an uphill battle. A recent Loyola University poll showed Nagin had an approval rating of just 19% in New Orleans.

Blanco’s not going to run for re-election, so Nagin wouldn’t have the power of an incumbant to combat in the primary, even though in this case it’s anyone’s guess as to who’s been the most ineffective elected official in that state: Blanco or Nagin.

If Nagin runs, we know one automatic supporter he’ll have on his side:

Possible campaign slogans for Nagin? Let’s hope it’s not something along the lines of “working to build a more chocolate Louisiana” ….

On the Republican side in the governor’s race, Rep. Bobby Jindal has already announced his intentions.

(Cross-posted at Iowa Voice, where I am helping fill in for a vacationing Brian.)

Flashbacks:

• Ray Nagin believes there is a ‘plot’ to keep black people out of N.O
• Nagin would ’support’ requiring able-bodied public housing residents to work
• Ray Nagin wins again in New Orleans mayoral election
• Nagin watch: Fanning the racial flames in New Orleans
• Mayor Nagin may not get his “chocolate city” wish
• Great suggestion for a new Ben and Jerry’s flavor: New Orlean’s Chocolate Chip Mardi Gras, sprinkled with nuts and lots of fruitcake
• Nagin revises “chocolate city” comment
• Nagin reverses course, suspends N.O. reopening
• Blanco Passes Buck Back to Nagin
• Katrina: Urban legends, Nagin’s eye openers, etc