John Bel Edwards elected governor of Louisiana

Gerald Herbert/AP Louisiana Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards holds up an umbrella as he reacts with supporters, including his mother Dora Jean Edwards (right), at his election night watch party in New Orleans.

Democrats were ecstatic as Edwards defied expectations that only a Republican could win statewide in Louisiana. When all was said and done, Edwards pulled in 55 percent of the vote.

Edwards thanked his cheering supporters and said the election confounded conventional wisdom that he could not win. He said his victory showed people have “chosen hope… over negativity, over the distrust of others”.

It’s the culmination of a bitter campaign in which Edwards resurfaced a prostitution scandal that’s dogged Vitter for years, and Vitter called Edwards “John Bel Come Lately” in reference to Edwards’ stance on accepting Syrian refugees.

In the final days of the campaign, with the November 13 Paris terrorist attacks fresh in voters’ minds, Vitter’s campaign released a series of television and radio advertisements and made recorded telephone calls to voters that linked Edwards to President Barack Obama’s decision to accept refugees from war- torn Syria into the U.S.

Edwards will be the only Democratic governor in the Deep South, where Republicans dominate politically. He set the terms of the conversation, easily deflecting charges that he’s too liberal to govern reliably Republican Louisiana and shifting the focus to personality, character and the social issues on which he holds more conservative positions.

Though Vitter and Jindal have an equally icy relationship – both blamed each other for tarnishing the Republican brand in the state – Edwards insisted Vitter would represent a continuation of Jindal’s rule. David Vitter in the polls to become the next governor in that bright red state on the eve of the runoff.

Taking nothing for granted, Edwards ran a brutal attack ad, implying that Vitter missed a key vote for veterans while speaking to a prostitute.

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.

Jay Dardenne, Louisiana’s Republican lieutenant governor, finished fourth in the jungle primary.

The campaign also dredged up Vitter’s involvement in a 2007 prostitution scandal in Washington. “I will never embarrass you”.

Landry, a one-term former congressman who received the endorsement of the state Republican Party, framed his entire campaign as a referendum on Caldwell’s performance in office.

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“They had an unpopular governor and a flawed candidate and we had a great champion”, Peterson said.