BATON ROUGE, La. — Governor John Bel Edwards announced he is endorsing democratic candidate Dr. Shawn Wilson in his campaign run for Louisiana governor.
The announcement comes one day after Wilson’s campaign launched Monday.
"Today, I am proud to endorse Shawn Wilson. When I was elected Governor, the only person I wanted to serve as your Transportation Secretary was Shawn Wilson. Shawn's reputation speaks for itself. He's spent his career bringing people together to accomplish the most difficult tasks. In his seven years as Secretary, he has overseen the implementation of the largest infrastructure investments in our state's history. We are finally tackling the infrastructure projects we have dreamed about for decades. His success in this role was only possible because he works with anyone, regardless of political party, to get things done."
"While in many significant ways Louisiana is demonstrably better today than when I was elected, we have our fair share of challenges, and I believe the only way to overcome them is by putting partisan differences aside to put Louisiana first. Shawn shares my belief that we should put what's best for our people before what's best for our political parties. If we're going to continue to move Louisiana in the right direction, we need Shawn as our next Governor. He's exactly the type of leader who will bridge the partisan divides that too often take hold of our politics. Donna and I are proud to endorse his campaign, and we ask Louisianans to lift their prayers with ours for Shawn, his wife, Rocki, and their family as they embark on this journey."
Wilson is the first democrat to enter the Louisiana governor’s race after he announced he was stepping down as Louisiana Transportation Secretary.
In receiving the endorsement, Shawn said:
“The Governor and I have a lot in common – our love of the outdoors, a passion to make our state better, and we both married up by marrying educators. I was honored to serve as Transportation Secretary under Gov. Edwards. He entrusted me with the leadership of a department that would soon make generational change throughout our state. Gov. Edwards and I know the value in working together. We’ve spent the last 7 years bringing people of both parties to the table to find agreement. That’s the only way to get things done for Louisiana, and as our next Governor, I promise to the people of our state that I will work every day to bridge the divides that hold us back. I’m proud to have the Governor’s endorsement, and Rocki and I are so grateful for the support from him and First Lady Donna Edwards.”
Wilson joins a growing group of candidates which includes four Republicans and one Independent candidate.
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