Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards wins reelection in second straight loss for Trump-allied GOP candidate
by Naomi Lim
| November 16, 2019 11:00 PM
Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards beat Republican challenger Eddie Rispone, a close ally of President Trump, to win a second term.
The nail-biting race Saturday, called by the Associated Press for Edwards, pitted a popular moderate incumbent — the only Democrat in a governor's mansion in the Deep South — against a Republican challenger vociferously backed by Trump in a state where only five former chief executives can boast about winning reelection.
With 3,776 of 3,934 precincts reporting and votes still being counted, Edwards had 734,671 votes (51%) compared to Rispone's 715,659 (49%), according to the Louisiana secretary of state's office.
While Edwards, 53, sought to distance his campaign for a second term from national politics, the matchup with Rispone, 70, was seen by onlookers as a referendum on Trump and Democratic-led impeachment proceedings in the House. That narrative was pushed by the president himself during one of his two visits to the conservative bastion in as many weeks to stump for Rispone, a fellow businessman and political newcomer. His trips coincide with the start of the impeachment investigation's public hearings.
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