Louisiana finally has a formal U.S. Senate race.

It's a massive field, with two dozen candidates having paid their money and signed up last month.

And it's an important post — even though, with Mary Landrieu's 2014 loss and David Vitter's imminent departure following his own gubernatorial loss — Louisiana will soon have less seniority than just about any other state. That matters, but arguably less than it used to, what with relative short-timers such as Barack Obama, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Elizabeth Warren now regularly bursting onto the national scene.

So what's everyone talking about?

Ex-KKK leader David Duke qualifies to run for U.S. Senate: 'My time has come' Two dozen candidates, the largest field in at least 35 years, are running for a U.S. Senate …

Donald Trump, Donald Trump, and more Donald Trump. And some Hillary Clinton, but really just a whole lot of Donald Trump.

Oh, and David Duke, a Trump-inspired entry into the Senate contest, and a fringe candidate who has nonetheless sent his fellow Republicans scrambling.

Of course, it's still the dead of summer, and traditionally campaigning doesn't start in earnest until Labor Day. The season will be longer than in a typical state election, since the primary will be held on Election Day in November, not October. An almost inevitable runoff will take place in December, a month after the presidential race will have been decided.

The calendar alone, though, creates the possibility of high drama. What if, no matter who wins the presidency, control of the Senate rests on the outcome of Louisiana's overtime vote? And what if the race features a Democrat versus a Republican? That's a possibility but not a given, considering the large field and open primary system.

Or what if lightning strikes and Duke capitalizes on the divided field and sneaks in to the final round? It's a farfetched scenario and I'm tempted to say that couldn't happen, but then, I would have said the same about Trump making it this far.

Of course, Louisiana's unique system has carried that possibility before, and it's never actually come to pass. But doesn't this just feel like the sort of year when it could?