NEW ORLEANS — The red state of Louisiana reelected a Democrat for its governor. John Bel Edwards will serve as governor again for the next four years after a runoff win against Eddie Rispone.
"How sweet it is," Governor Edwards said as he began his victory speech Saturday.
Edwards defeated Republican businessman Eddie Rispone even after President Donald Trump visited Louisiana to express his overwhelming support for Rispone.
"As for the president, God bless his heart," Edwards said during his speech.
WWL Political Analyst Clancy Dubos offered some perspective on this win.
"It kind of tarnishes the coattails a little bit," Dubos said. "He drove a lot of rural white turnout for Eddie Rispone. He made the race closer than it would have been, but it did not put him over the top because he also drove a lot of moderate whites, liberal whites, and many many African-Americans to the polls."
Clancy believes the results show Louisiana voters did not nationalize this election.
"A slight majority said 'no. This is not a national race. This is a state race and we're going to vote on state issues and state qualifications,'" Dubos said.
Because of that, Dubos said he doesn't believe this is necessarily a huge loss for the president.
"If he runs next year, (Trump) probably will carry Louisiana again and probably by a comfortable margin," Dubos said.
In New Orleans, Edwards got 90 percent of the votes.
"New Orleans really put him over the top and then some," Dubos said.
Governor Edwards will be working with a more conservative Republican legislature than he worked with when he took office four years ago. Dubos said that means Louisianians can expect to see a lot of gridlock in the near future.
"I think we're going to see a lot more vetoes than in recent years," he said.
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