President Trump suffered another setback in the South on Saturday.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) defeated his Republican challenger Eddie Rispone, a wealthy businessman who had Trump’s backing, to secure another term in Baton Rouge. After polls predicted a close race, Edwards edged Rispone by about 40,000 votes, carrying most of the state’s urban centers. Rural areas mostly supported Rispone.
Edwards’ victory is widely viewed as a loss for Trump and the GOP, especially after Democratic challenger Andy Beshear won a tightly contested race against incumbent Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R). Trump had campaigned heartily for both candidates. “If this campaign has taught us anything, it’s that the partisan forces in Washington, D.C., are not enough to break through the bonds that we share as Louisianans,” Edwards said during his victory speech.
The president decried Edwards as a “radical leftist” in the lead up to the election. The governor is known for expanding Medicaid and criminal justice reform, but he has also received criticism from his own party for supporting antiabortion measures. Read more at The Washington Post and NPR.
*story by The Week