State Rep. John Bel Edwards (D) was elected the governor of Louisiana in a runoff election on Saturday, defeating U.S. Sen.
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If Edwards wins, it would be the first statewide win for Democrats since 2008.
“His campaign is built on a myth that he is a few sort of a conservative, that we don’t differ on the issues, when we definitely do”, Vitter said. Two Republican House members, Charles Boustany and John Fleming, had openly angled for appointment to the Senate by Vitter, had he won.
Republican challenger Jeff Landry defeated the GOP incumbent in Saturday night’s runoff election, ending Caldwell’s tenure as Louisiana’s top lawyer after two terms.
Vitter said in his concession speech that he will retire from the Senate at the end of his term next year.
Besides being second in line to the governor, the lieutenant governor leads Louisiana’s Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism and serves as the figurehead for the state’s $11 billion tourism industry.
Edwards, a state lawmaker, will take over the office from term-limited Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal in January.
Louisiana GOP gubernatorial candidate David Vitter exits a voting booth at Precinct 90 inside Fire Station 15 in Metairie, La. But Vitter was hit with repeated attacks for a 2007 prostitution scandal in which he apologized for a serious sin after he was linked through phone records to Washingtons D.C. Madam. Edwards is taking over a state awash in financial problems. “We must unite and work together – together regardless of party, of race, of gender, of geography”, Edwards said at his campaign party at the Monteleone Hotel in the French Quarter.
On the other side were three strong Republicans in a bare-knuckle family feud for the other spot – Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle, Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne and Vitter. He’s pledged bipartisan leadership. David Vitter, plagued with questions of character and integrity, mainly tied to a years-old prostitution scandal. Vitter’s negatives with voters shot up in the polls. “But I’m only going to be doing that for one more year”, Vitter said, adding that he wants to explore options outside of elected politics.
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At least $30 million has been spent by candidates and outside groups, according to The Associated Press. The broader list of polls at Pollster shows Edwards continuing to lead in polling taken over the past week, and give him an average lead of precisely ten points over Vitter, although it’s worth noting that one recently released poll, one taken by a predominantly Republican polling organization, showed Edwards’ lead cut to four points, The final pre-election poll, though, gives Edwards an eight point lead over Vitter. When the final campaign finance reports are filed, the contest is expected to be the most expensive governor’s race in Louisiana history.
