John Bel Edwards didn’t get a pass from anyone after his election in 2015—not from the press, the Legislature or his political enemies, Jeremy Alford says in his latest column.
“Going from Bobby Jindal to Edwards was still a bit of a transition for Louisiana’s political class,” Alford writes. “Movers and shakers had to figure out what it meant to have a Legislature controlled by Republicans and a Governor’s Mansion occupied by a Democrat.”
Influencers, he notes, also had to get used to Edwards’ ways.
“He can be defensive at times and doesn’t hold punches, especially if another throws the first one,” Alford writes. “Over the past year and a half Edwards has gotten sideways with reporters, lawmakers, statewide elected officials and members of Congress.”
Edwards strives to a be a last-word governor, Alford says.
“He doesn’t let slights or oversights pass without a response,” he writes. “Simply put, the man seems to love a fight.”
We know all of this because Edwards is no longer Louisiana’s “new governor,” Alford says. His style of governing was defined rather quickly by budget shortfalls and natural disasters, giving him more to deal with in a year and a half than what some governors face in an entire term.
“That’s to say he’s wearing the governorship like a worn-in pair of shoes now,” he writes. “And he intends to stay in the job, based on the $3.3 million he raised last year for his 2019 re-election campaign. The governor will likely get some outside help too from some national Democratic groups, and he’s going to need it.”
Several groups have already emerged with the goal of seeing the Democratic governor go down in flames—notably the Louisiana-based Truth in Politics, America Rising and its numerous national affiliates, and Americans For Prosperity, which has taken aim at the governor’s tax agenda.
Taxes represent one of two areas of vulnerability for Edwards as he approaches re-election, Alford says.
“There hasn’t been a fiscal session yet where Edwards didn’t recommend or support some increase in taxes, which we all know is a red meat issue for conservative voters,” he writes. “The question is how far his opponents can push the topic, because occasionally polls do show voters being much more nuanced on the issue than lawmakers.”
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
