John Bel Edwards is Louisiana’s next governor: what you’re saying

“But I think we’re going to win”. About and more than 140,000 of them were Democrats, according to early voting statistics released by the Louisiana secretary of State. “I commit to you, we will be better”. David Vitter. He thanked those supporters who he said “believed we could confound the conventional wisdom that this victory just couldn’t happen”.

In his concession speech, Vitter said he would not run for re-election next year for his senate seat.

With 90 percent of precincts reporting, Edwards improved on Landrieu’s margins in all but one county. Nearly 40 percent of registered voters cast ballots. Bill Cassidy supported Vitter, but a few other GOP officeholders backed Edwards. It evolved into the surreal, focusing on prostitutes, spying, strip joints and Syrians. Backed by teachers unions, Edwards opposes Common Core and wants greater accountability for vouchers and charter schools. A 1988 West Point graduate, Edwards served as an Army Ranger, among other duties, during an eight-year military career.

The USA senator also was hampered by high disapproval ratings for his fellow Republican, Jindal, who is blamed for the state’s financial problems.

Supriya and I would like to congratulate Governor-elect John Bel Edwards for his impressive victory. Now is the time for everyone to put politics and partisanship aside and make sure our new governor is ready on day one. Something of an “Anybody but Vitter” movement began to form, powered in part by two “super PACs” formed expressly to seek his defeat.

Vitter has won seven elections in a row and has shown, throughout his career, an ability to do what it takes to win both for him and his allies.

Entering the governor’s race, Vitter, a Republican, was seen as the favorite.

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. His campaign amassed about $10 million, more than his three major competitors combined.

For most of the year, Vitter and Republican-aligned groups have sought to nationalize the race by portraying Edwards as an Obama liberal. If Edwards wins, it would be the first statewide win for Democrats since 2008.

The cake at governor-elect John Bel Edwards’ election night party. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 until 2005. Thousands of Republicans went out of their way to vote against Vitter. However, after months of attacks, include those about his 2007 prostitution scandal, Vitter barely defeated his two Republican challengers in last month’s open primary and finished second behind Edwards by roughly 14 percentage points.