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.
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For most of the year, Vitter and Republican-aligned groups have sought to nationalize the race by portraying Edwards as an Obama liberal.
In a state that has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 2008, and in a part of the country where Democratic campaigns for governor are mostly suicide missions, a Republican was assumed to have an easy path to victory. The New Orleans Time-Picayune called Edwards’ win “one of the biggest political upsets in the state’s history”.
Since the October primary, Edwards has countered by playing up his support from Republicans – including Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, who endorsed his candidacy earlier this month – as well as Dardenne and Scott Angelle’s attacks on him during the primary over his trustworthiness and, both of which were by the Democratic Governors Association-aligned Gumbo PAC. David Vitter was the presumed frontrunner. “I had decided when I decided to make this race with Wendy that I wanted to pursue new challenges outside the Senate no matter what”.
But the governor’s race was different.
Vitter made the announcement during an appearance to campaign supporters in the New Orleans suburbs Saturday evening after it became apparent that he would not win the governor’s race.
Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal is term-limited.
Louisiana’s other Republican Sen.
Neither Edwards nor Vitter offered detailed roadmaps for tackling the budget woes, and the general outlines they touted were largely similar in approach. He says the election is a message that voters are fed up with ultra-partisan politics. Not long after, he created waves in the state Republican party when he crossed party lines to officially endorse Edwards. “And probably 80 percent of us are stuck in the middle with nowhere to go”. Louisiana is in a stronger position today than it ever has been and I am very optimistic about the future of this great state.
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Edwards, who began his gubernatorial bid as a little-known lawmaker from rural Tangipahoa Parish, responded to the spike in Vitter’s disapproval ratings with a campaign built on personal integrity, a resume that includes a West Point degree and a tenure as an Army Ranger, and pledges that he’d run a moderate administration built on bipartisanship. But he also plans to expand Medicaid and push for a higher minimum wage, issues popular with Louisiana Democrats. But that last ditch scheme didn’t work either, and throughout Election Night, he found himself well behind Edwards.
