Voters in Louisana ignored Donald Trump’s pleas and reelected Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards.
Dave Wasserman of NBC News and The Cook Political Report called it for the Democrat:
I've seen enough. Projection: Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) has defeated Eddie Rispone (R) to win a second term. #LAGOV
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 17, 2019
The final margin is likely to be very close. A Dem strategist I just spoke with credits LSU's win vs. Alabama for voters' satisfaction w/ direction of state & Edwards's razor-thin victory. #LAGOV
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 17, 2019
A key to tonight's #LAGOV outcome: the small but critical bloc of Ralph Abraham (R) primary voters who either stayed home or voted for Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) in the runoff.
It sure was evident in the parish-level results tonight.
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 17, 2019
Bel Edwards withstood a rally from Donald Trump for his Republican opponent, Eddie Rispone. At the rally, Trump said, “You need to fire your far-left governor.”
Louisiana voters didn’t listen to the president.
Trump proved that he lacks coattails after he went to Kentucky for Republican Matt Bevin, who lost. Republicans tried to blame the loss on Bevin, but after Trump injected himself into another statewide election in a Republican state, it is fair to ask if Donald Trump has any coattails at all?
If Trump were a popular incumbent, he would be able to push these Republicans over the finish line in tight elections in states Republicans dominate.
It makes sense that a president who has only been out for himself has no power to elevate members of his own party.
Trump is being impeached, and even in the reddest of states, he has proven to be of no help to his party.
John Bel Edwards’s margin of victory will be slim, but it will represent another defeat for the myth of Donald Trump.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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