State Rep. John Bel Edwards elected next Louisiana governor

Edwards, who often took pains to emphasize his record as a pro-gun-right, anti-abortion legislator, proved them wrong and pulled off “one of the biggest political upsets in the state’s history”.

Supriya and I would like to congratulate Governor-elect John Bel Edwards for his impressive victory. Vitter escaped into the runoff, but his Democratic challenger, state Rep. John Bel Edwards seized on the questions about his moral character.

Edwards also continued to strike at Vitter for the prostitution scandal, most notably when he ran a TV ad that said Vitter missed a vote to honor soldiers because of a phone call from the prostitution service, choosing “prostitutes over patriots”. But even so, Vitter’s supports are still standing by his side.

Yet Edwards, a Catholic with a Boy Scout earnestness who comes from a family of sheriffs, won by a larger margin, 56 to 44 percent, than any Louisiana Democrat running for governor since Edwin Edwards reclaimed the office after a four-year absence by beating David Duke in 1991.

Until just a few months ago, Vitter was the clear favorite to win the race.

The Washington Post also reported an acrimonious feud between Jindal, who recently ended his presidential campaign, and Vitter, whom Jindal refused to endorse, helped secure Vitter’s political demise. One independent poll showed the Republican almost closing the gap with Edwards.

With 92% of the vote in late Saturday, Edwards had 55% of the ballots cast, according to the Louisiana secretary of state’s website.

To be sure, Democrats didn’t expect to win the Louisiana governorship, considering Republicans now control every governorship and state legislature in the Deep South.

Other names that have been mentioned in the wake of Vitter’s decision to retire include Republican Congressmen Steve Scalise, the current House Majority Whip who had briefly stood for election as House Majority Leader when it appeared that Kevin McCarthy would be succeeding John Boehner as Speaker of the House.

However, on Saturday reason triumphed over fear as voters decisively chose to back Edwards over Vitter.

Vitter’s unpopularity was demonstrated by the success of Billy Nungesser, the Republican in the lieutenant governor’s race.

Edwards brings a varied background to the governor’s office. Edwards’ position, opposing resettlement on American soil, was virtually indistinguishable from Vitter’s, though he didn’t dwell on it while campaigning.

Edwards, in turn, tried to keep the focus away from party or ideology and on his military background, Vitter’s scandal and the increasingly unpopular Jindal, who after two terms was barred by term limits from seeking re-election. Mary Landrieu, who ironically was the last Democrat elected statewide in 2008, was soundly defeated in 2014, though she gained more votes than any other Louisiana Democrat during the seven-year losing streak until Saturday night.