Facing battles right off the bat on divisive issues including the budget, education and Medicaid expansion, the honeymoon is already over for Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards after he bested U.S. Sen. David Vitter in Saturday’s runoff, says Jeremy Alford in his latest column.
“Rough waters are ahead for the man who made history this past weekend,” Alford writes. “As Gov.-elect Edwards and his supporters were basking in the rays of an impossible mission made possible, Republicans were already quietly discussing 2019 and the next race for governor. There are already at least a dozen conservative House members who will be dedicated to softening the governor-elect up over the next four years, especially on issues that appear slightly blue to their red motives.”
Battle lines have already been drawn. Edwards has already stated he wants to replace current Education Superintendent John White, but he will likely face a battle to do so with the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, which is charged with hiring and firing the state superintendent, Alford notes. The business community, which opposed Edwards during the campaign, is also on edge regarding his potential moves during special and regular sessions.
“And while they’re eager and willing to move into this brave new world with open minds, they’re also ready for a fight,” Alford writes.
Though the honeymoon for Edwards may be fading quickly, Alford says, the man’s place in election history is set. He made history with his victory Saturday, becoming the first Democrat elected statewide in seven years, the third Louisiana governor since 1972 to share the same party with the sitting president and the fourth to win a runoff despite the opposing party’s candidates garnering more total votes in the primary.
“But how he will write the rest of his gubernatorial history is what matters most—and it will be the political challenge of his life,” Alford says. “After this stunner of an election cycle, those are the kind of odds John Bel Edwards knows all too well.”
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.
