Pardon Our Dust
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On Saturday, Nov. 21, the Louisiana Democratic Party picked up the governor’s mansion, which it had not held in a very long time, while the GOP kept theattorney general’s office. Please see the last update of McGuireWoods Consulting’s election summary for 2015.
Governor
Democratic state Representative and House Minority Leader John Bel Edwards was elected governor of Louisiana Saturday, November 21. Edwards is now the onlyDemocratic governor in the Deep South and the first elected statewide in Louisiana since 2008. Edwards received 56 percent of votes cast, compared to hisopponent, Republican U.S. Senator David Vitter, who received 44 percent. Edwards and Vitter were the top two vote-getters in October’s primary, but becauseneither candidate received a majority of votes, a runoff was held Saturday. In the runoff, Edwards received the endorsement of Republican LieutenantGovernor Jay Dardenne, who was also a candidate for governor, as well as many other Republican members of the legislature. During the campaign, Edwardshighlighted being a West Point graduate who was a pro-gun, anti-abortion legislator. He entered the runoff with a strong ad calling into question Vitter’svalues. Last week, Vitter gained some traction using the Paris attacks to tie Edwards to an unpopular Obama administration. Although the gap closed in thefinal weeks, it was not enough to fend off John Bel Edwards. At his concession speech, Vitter announced he will retire from the U.S. Senate in 2016.Edwards will take office in January, succeeding current Governor Bobby Jindal (R).
Attorney General
Former U.S. Congressman Jeff Landry (R) won the race for attorney general against Republican incumbent Attorney General Buddy Caldwell on Saturday,November 21. Landry beat Caldwell, 56 percent to 44 percent. Caldwell was first elected to the attorney general’s office as a Democrat in 2008, butswitched to the Republican Party in 2011. Landry enjoyed a fundraising advantage over his opponent throughout the campaign. The former U.S. congressmanreceived the support of Democratic Party-endorsed candidate Geri Broussard Baloney and the Republican Party of Louisiana. Landry – who is a veteran, formeroil and gas industry small business owner, attorney and sheriff’s deputy – will take office in January of 2016.
McGuireWoods Consulting’s National Multistate Strategies practice allows our clients to have coverage of all 50 states and for all the meetings of thenation’s governors and attorneys general. We assist clients in covering issues, including federal legislation, state legislation, procurement, federal orstate regulatory matters, multistate litigation, and corporate image or crisis situations. Our National Multistate Strategies team effectively andefficiently reaches across the country to gain support on matters important to our clients.
For additional information about the 2015 election results or the National Multistate Strategies practice, please contact one of our team members:
Governor Jim Hodges
Jerry Kilgore
Jason Eige
Joe Jaso
Mona Mohib
Carlos Muniz
Andrew Smith