Published 14:08 IST, October 13th 2019
Rare Southern Democratic governor Edwards battles Republican rivals
Rare Southern Democratic governor Edwards battles Republican rivals in November runoff. Edwards reportedly won 47 percent of the votes in Saturday's polls.
US' Louisiana Democratic Governor candidate John Bel Edwards is still leading the runoff which was evident in the primary polls on October 12. Edwards reportedly won 47 percent of the votes bringing total swiftly in his favourites. He is the only Democratic governor in the conservative Deep South. Yet experts are still in dilemma whether he would get enough votes to win an outright primary victory and fend off a national GOP offensive aimed at forcing him into a November runoff. Republicans, on the other hand, rejoiced to 27 percent votes bagged by Republican Eddie Rispone. Trump too made a last-minute appeal to Louisiana's voters to reject Edwards.
Tough competition for Edwards
Two main GOP challengers, U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham and businessman Eddie Rispone were the contenders of Edwards who is Louisiana's only Democratic statewide elected official. With Edwards unable to attain more than 50 percent, the Republicans and three other rivals who were among the six running for the Governer position threatened to peel off a few percentage points to tip the balance and push Edwards into a November 16 runoff election. A the same time, Republicans, Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, Attorney General Jeff Landry, and Treasurer John Schroder won reelection to new four-year terms. About three more GOP incumbents also were seeking to hold on to their jobs, and voters were deciding four proposed constitutional changes.
Republicans did not leave any stone unturned to attack Edwards. They claimed Edwards' longshot victory in 2015 was a fluke, aided by a flawed GOP opponent, David Vitter, who was hobbled by a prostitution scandal and attacks on his moral character from fellow Republicans in the primary. Yet Democrats yearn Edward's victory so as to show that they can compete even in a ruby red state that Trump won by 20 points. Edward, on the other hand, is quite different than a typical Democrat.
Edwards a mix of Democrat and Republican: Voters
The 53-year-old opposes abortion and gun restrictions, talks of working well with the Trump administration and calls the US House Democrats' impeachment inquiry a distraction to governing in Washington. He even signed one of the nation's strictest abortion bans. The West Point graduate and former Army Ranger sought to make the election a referendum on his performance rather than a commentary on Louisiana views on national politics. Voters at the primary polls said the media that Edwards has done a good job and that he is a mix of both republican and democrat.
Edwards work in budget and health care
Moreover, Edwards is also known for his budget. He contrasted three recent years of budget surpluses with the deficit-riddled terms of his predecessor, Republican Bobby Jindal. Edwards and GOP state Legislature passed a tax deal that stabilized state finances and allowed for new investments in public colleges and the first statewide teacher raise in a decade. The Democratic incumbent expanded Louisiana's Medicaid program, adding nearly a half-million new people to government-financed health care and lowering the state's uninsured rate below the national average.
"When I took office, the state of Louisiana had the largest budget deficit in our history. We did the hard, bipartisan work necessary to right the ship, to strengthen our economy," Edward said.
Updated 15:14 IST, October 13th 2019