Voters re-elect Democrat Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards
Governor John Bel Edwards speaks onstage at the 2017 ESSENCE Festival presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on June 30, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for 2017 ESSENCE Festival )
BATON ROUGE, La. - Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards will keep his job as the Deep South's only Democratic governor, in a blow to President Donald Trump, who tried to boost the incumbent's opponent.
On Saturday, voters narrowly reelected Edwards to a second term, snubbing Republican businessman Eddie Rispone deep in the heart of Trump country.
Louisiana's only Democratic statewide elected official withstood an onslaught of national Republican opposition and hung on to the seat by focusing on state-specific issues and his record of bipartisanship.
Edwards was helped when Louisiana's top-tier GOP officials decided against running for the seat.
Rispone had never sought public office and had little name recognition. The wealthy industrial contractor poured millions of his own money into the campaign and wrapped himself in his support for Trump, trying to nationalize the race.