Democrat John Bel Edwards defeats Republican David Vitter for Louisiana Governorship
Inasmuch as Democrat John Bel Edwards was leading by a substantial margin in the polls for weeks, no one was assuming victory would be a forgone conclusion. After-all, Matt Bevin was behind in the Kentucky polls and won. Same is true for Sam Brownback in Kansas. This time around the polls were spot on. Unknown John Bel Edwards beat the well established Louisiana Senator David Vitter.
Here is how the signature New Orleans news paper NOLA reported it.
State Rep. John Bel Edwards, a relatively unknown Democrat from a rural Amite, will be the state’s next governor after toppling Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., in one of the biggest political upsets in the state’s history.
No state in the Deep South has had a Democratic governor since Kathleen Blanco left office eight years ago. A Democrat hasn’t even come within spitting distance of statewide office in Louisiana since 2008, when former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu won reelection.
That all changed Saturday (Nov. 21) as Edwards came out of nowhere to take down a Republican candidate once seen as unbeatable in a solidly Red State. Preliminary election results show Edwards topped Vitter by 12 points, a resounding victory.