Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards will face off against Republican businessman Eddie Rispone in a Nov. 16 runoff election, following Edwards’ failure to secure the majority of votes in Saturday’s primary election.
Under the jungle primary system in Louisiana, all candidates appear on the same ballot. A runoff is forced if no single candidate can obtain a majority of 50% plus one vote, according to the Associated Press.
President Donald Trump held a rally in Lake Charles in an endorsement for Edwards’ Republican opponents, Rispone and U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham.
“Louisiana cannot take four more years of a Democratic governor taking your money,” Trump said at the rally. “Tomorrow you’ve got to vote John Bel Edwards out.”
Trump continued to show support for the Republican candidates in a tweet early Saturday morning.
“Louisiana, get out and vote REPUBLICAN before going to the big game,” Trump tweeted. “A runoff will be a tremendous win for your Great State.”
Edwards took 46.6% of the vote on Saturday, 3.4 percentage points away from securing the majority. Rispone and Abraham secured 27.42% and 23.6% of the vote respectively, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State.
Rispone voiced his confidence in his ability to win the runoff election against Edwards in a tweet on Sunday.
“If you want different results, you’ve got to elect a different kind of governor,” Rispone tweeted. “As a conservative, outsider and successful businessman, I’m ready to take on liberal @JohnBelforLA November 16th to shake up this state and make it great again!”
After what many Republicans called a “fluke win” in 2015, Edwards has been the target of national campaigning from his Republican counterparts, and he only expects it to get worse.
“Over the next five weeks, the partisan forces in Washington, D.C. are going to pull out all the stops,” Edwards told his supporters after results came in Saturday.
Some ads targeting Edwards have focused on the controversy surrounding Edwards’ former top aide, Johnny Anderson. Anderson had previous sexual assault allegations filed against him when Edwards hired him. An employee in Edwards’ office accused Anderson of sexual assault in 2017. This resulted in the immediate resignation of Anderson.
The incident was brought up at the final gubernatorial debate in Shreveport on Oct. 9. Edwards said he believed Anderson was a good hire after the previous allegations were found to be void.
Though there was Republican unity in keeping Edwards from
winning a majority on Saturday, the two leading Republican candidates clashed frequently in the three gubernatorial debates.
Rispone brought up Abraham’s track record in Congress and his reneged promise to donate his congressional salary to charity in the third debate.
“We will not launch personal attacks against my Republican opponent, but I will defend my conservative record and values,” Abraham stated after running a counter ad that refuted Rispone’s claims.
Rispone’s ad campaign seemed to have been enough to shut out the Republican Congressman, with Rispone edging forward by 50,000 votes. The businessman committed $11 million of his personal wealth
toward his campaign.
Rispone, who has largely aligned himself with Trump’s policies, is a political outsider in much the same way Trump was in the 2016 election. Rispone has said on multiple occasions that he’s the only gubernatorial candidate to consistently support Trump and his policies. Winning the runoff would lead to Rispone’s first tenure in public office.
With a little over a month until the runoff election date, campaigning for both candidates is expected to increase. The Democratic party is watching the Louisiana election with interest, as a Democrat’s ability to hold onto the governor’s office would be a major victory, according to the Associated Press.
Early voting will be from Nov. 2 to Nov. 9.