Louisiana Republican Jeff Landry Wins Governor Race, Returns State to Republican Control

By Sundance

Interestingly, and perhaps likely because of President Trump’s endorsement of Jeff Landry, the Republican Governor’s Association (RGA) did not support Landry in the Louisiana governor’s race.  Just another small but interesting data point that will be missed in this story.

As we have previously mentioned, the RGA, just like the RNC, is a captured institution now under the full control of the multinational donors. Despite the lack of RGA support, Louisiana Republican Jeff Landry has won the governor’s race with more than 50% of the vote and will become the next governor.

(Politico) – […] Landry, the state attorney general, emerged from a crowded, all-party field to win the seat with 52 percent of the vote when The Associated Press called the race with 95 of the estimated vote counted. He will succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards.

Landry emerged from a field that included a number of notable Republicans, including state Treasurer John Schroder and Stephen Waguespack, a former executive at the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and one-time aide to former GOP Gov. Bobby Jindal. There was one big-name Democrat in the race: Shawn Wilson, who previously served in Edwards’ administration as transportation secretary and had 25 percent of the vote when the AP called the race.

Landry was able to quickly coalesce GOP support in the race. He was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, the state Republican Party and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, among others.

By receiving more than 50 percent of the vote, Landry, who is also a former member of Congress, avoids a November runoff. Most expected Landry and Wilson to advance to that contest, making Landry’s outright win on Saturday an even bigger surprise — and potentially an early marker of Republican voters’ enthusiasm heading into 2024.

The state is red — Trump carried it by almost 19 points in 2020 — but Landry will become only the 4th Republican governor since the end of Reconstruction. Edwards, the outgoing Democratic governor, is one of the last of a dying breed of Southern Democrats. He is a rare anti-abortion Democrat still in a prominent elected office. (more)