Louisiana picks Democrat governor

Edwards defeats early favorite Vitter by attacking his character, integrity

BATON ROUGE, La. — Democrat John Bel Edwards won the runoff election for Louisiana governor Saturday, defeating the once-heavy favorite, Republican David Vitter, and handing the Democrats their first statewide victory since 2008.

Edwards, a state lawmaker, will take over the office from term-limited Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal in January.

Voters’ rejection of Vitter was a stunning turn of events for the U.S. senator, who has been a political powerhouse in the state for years and started his campaign nearly two years ago as the race’s front-runner.

Edwards painted the race as a referendum on Vitter’s character and integrity and suggested the U.S. senator didn’t measure up in such a competition. Edwards focused on his West Point degree and military resume, and he pledged a bipartisan leadership style.

In the final days, Vitter sought to rally Republican voters who stayed home on Election Day by drawing policy distinctions with Edwards and making Syrian refugee resettlement an issue in the campaign. But it didn’t work.

Edwards is taking over a state awash in financial problems.

Neither Edwards nor Vitter offered detailed roadmaps for tackling the budget woes, and the general outlines they touted were largely simila.

Rather than a race about the state’s deep financial troubles, the contest for governor largely became a referendum on Vitter, who has been in elected office, first as a state lawmaker and then in Congress, for more than 20 years.

Vitter began the election cycle nearly two years ago as the clear favorite, expected to have an easy waltz into the governor’s office. He stockpiled cash for the campaign, dwarfing all competitors with his fundraising acumen. And with a campaign operation that has helped him and his allies to steamroll opponents over the years, he appeared nearly unbeatable.

But Vitter was hit with repeated attacks for a 2007 prostitution scandal in which he apologized for a “serious sin” after he was linked through phone records to Washington’s “D.C. Madam.

He had trouble uniting Republicans after a blistering primary competition in which Vitter trashed two GOP rivals and received heavy criticism for his scorched-earth political style. And his campaign was accused of ethical improprieties after allegations it secretly recorded political opponents. Vitter’s negatives with voters shot up in the polls.

Edwards downplayed his Democratic roots, positioned himself as a moderate and said he’d govern in a way that unites the state.