Runoff for Louisiana governor becomes referendum on Obama and Jindal

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/25/louisiana-governor-race-david-vitter-john-bel-edwards

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As the two men vying to be Louisiana’s next governor move into the campaign ahead of a 21 November runoff, they are asking the state’s voters to decide who is more unpopular in the state: the term-limited Republican governor, Bobby Jindal, or President Obama.

The Republican US senator David Vitter and Democratic state representative John Bel Edwards highlighted their strategies on Saturday night, as the candidate list was whittled to two in the governor’s race.

Vitter called Edwards a liberal and said supporting the state representative would “be the same as voting to make Barack Obama governor of Louisiana”. Edwards said Vitter represented a “third Jindal term” in office.

Obama is highly unpopular in the conservative state, but so is Jindal. The two-term governor’s policies are criticized for causing continued financial problems at home, and his absenteeism while he runs for the Republican presidential nomination – without gaining much purchase in the polls – has drawn ire.

Vitter and Edwards were the top two vote-getters in Saturday’s open primary, which put all candidates, regardless of party, in a competition. Edwards always seemed assured of a run-off spot as the only major Democratic candidate. Vitter beat two other major Republicans, public service commissioner Scott Angelle and Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne, rivals who called Vitter’s eight-year-old prostitution scandal a stain on Louisiana.

The senator apologized in 2007 for a “very serious sin”, after he was linked through phone records to Washington’s “DC Madam”.

The race was tighter than Vitter had hoped, with Edwards taking 40% of the primary vote and Vitter advancing with 23%, according to unofficial returns.

Months ago, Vitter was atop the polls, flush with campaign cash and running like an incumbent. But amid continued talk of the prostitution scandal and a drumbeat of criticism about attack-heavy campaign tactics, Vitter’s negatives spiked among voters. One political action committee has been running an “Anybody But Vitter” campaign.

Vitter, however, maintained a strong conservative base that propelled him into the runoff. The two runoff contenders immediately took swipes at each other, suggesting the themes voters can expect next.

Vitter is making the competition a partisan one, which has worked well for other Republican candidates in recent years as Louisiana has become an increasingly red state.

“We have a stark difference in this runoff,” Vitter said. He added: “John Bel Edwards is not a casual supporter of Barack Obama. He is a true believer.”

While he tied Vitter to Jindal, Edwards described Vitter as “Nixonian”.

“Over the next few weeks, David Vitter is going to spend millions of dollars lying about my record, lying about my values, lying about my service to our country and to our state,” Edwards said.

An Ivy League-educated Rhodes Scholar from the New Orleans suburbs, Vitter has returned to a campaign style that has worked for him in previous races. He is running on conservative values and describing himself as a political outsider.

“The politicians in Baton Rouge have created one heck of a mess. The state budget in disarray, eight years of cuts to higher education, too many of our roads and bridges in complete disrepair and too many of our best and brightest having to leave the state for good opportunity,” Vitter told supporters.

Edwards is campaigning as a conservative Democrat, pro-gun and anti-abortion, and comes from a family of sheriffs. He has a West Point degree and military background.

“I live by the honor code: a cadet will not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do. And David Vitter wouldn’t last five minutes at West Point,” Edwards said on Saturday night.

The primary race largely came down to personalities – and a referendum of sorts on whether Vitter’s prostitution scandal still resonated with voters. Vitter has dodged talk of the scandal, suggesting he and the voters have moved on.