Democratic State Representative John Bel Edwards has defeated GOP Senator David Vitter in a hard fought, dirty campaign for the governorship of Louisiana.
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While Vitter’s loss is a setback for Republicans, and provides a boost to Democrats ahead of the 2016 elections, there is a silver lining as well: Edwards ran, and won, on a conservative message.
Moments after conceding Saturday night, Vitter announced he will not seek re-election in the Senate.
As long as the race was decided by domestic issues, Edwards, a former Army ranger who opposes abortion rights, had the advantage, Cross said.
The Republican coasted to an easy victory Saturday against East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden, a Democrat, after fighting for his spot in the runoff. Going back to Vitter’s House days, in 2001, the Edwards television ad argued the Republican “answered a prostitute’s call minutes after he skipped a vote honoring 28 soldiers who gave their lives in defense of our freedom”, thereby choosing “prostitutes over patriots”.
Edwards thanked his cheering supporters and said the election confounded conventional wisdom that he could not win. But even so, Vitter’s supports are still standing by his side.
“John Bel, as much as possible, attempted to identify with Republicans”, said U.S. Sen.
But such are the divisions in the GOP that many Republicans cast their lot with Edwards, including outgoing Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, who endorsed the Democrat in the runoff.
Sheriff’s Office detectives have executed warrants to view the seven-minute video Robert Frenzel recorded on Friday morning at a Metairie coffee shop and to search his phones and cars as they piece together evidence to get a warrant for violation of the state’s laws against intercepting communications, Normand said.
Edwards won 56 percent of the vote, with 99 percent of precincts reporting.
“It did happen”, he said. “John Bel Edwards has pledged to work with Obama to bring Syrian refugees to Louisiana”, said an announcer in an attack ad.
Neither Edwards nor Vitter offered detailed roadmaps for tackling the budget woes, and the general outlines they touted were largely similar in approach.
The state’s GOP leader, Roger Villere, insisted “our Republican brand is strong” even amid the defeat of one-time political powerhouse, Republican U.S. Sen.
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. Vitter began the election cycle almost two years ago as the clear favorite, expected to have an easy waltz into the governor’s office. He stockpiled cash for the campaign, dwarfing all competitors.
Vitter, originally the frontrunner, suffered from questions about his character and could not recover from a prostitution scandal in 2007 that became a discussion point in the race. He had trouble uniting Republicans after a blistering primary competition in which Vitter trashed two GOP rivals and received heavy criticism for his scorched-earth political style. “I will not let you down”, he said. “The people of Louisiana have chosen to believe that we can do better, and that by doing better, we will be better”.
The news marks a stunning fall for Vitter, who just months ago had been considered the front-runner to replace term-limited Gov. Bobby Jindal.
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“I will be honest with you”.
