With early voting for the Nov. 21 runoff elections underway now through Saturday, Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister has released his endorsements.
“Once again, Louisiana voters (to be exact, 38.5% of them) and our open primary system have made our bed—and unfortunately we must all lie in it,” McCollister writes in his new column. “Many Republicans and independents have told me they are now between a rock and a hard place in this gubernatorial race, faced with the unpleasant task of choosing between a liberal Democrat wedded to the teacher unions and a conservative Republican they don’t like or trust.”
Ultimately, McCollister says, he cannot endorse either candidate vying to be Louisiana’s next governor.
“I am an optimist, but I am doubtful that either candidate—Rep. John Bel Edwards or Sen. David Vitter—can lead our state,” he writes, adding the race amounts to a “battle of bad policy vs. bad character.”
McCollister says regardless of who is Louisiana’s next governor, “we will have to depend on the Legislature and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for strong leadership. In a state where the governor wields so much power, the Legislature and BESE will need our strong support—and a lot of prayer.”
In the lieutenant governor’s race, which pits three-term Democratic Mayor Kip Holden against Republican Billy Nungesser, a Republican, McCollister is endorsing Holden.
“The top two Republican opponents spent millions trashing one another while Holden just kept smiling as he talked about the potential for Louisiana tourism, the film industry and economic development,” McCollister writes. “Holden is energetic and enthusiastic about our potential, and he has ‘never met a stranger.’ He loves what he does in selling Baton Rouge—and has done a good job. Now he wants to promote our state to the world. I believe Holden can do it best.”
Read the full column for McCollister’s full slate of endorsements, which includes his picks for attorney general, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and four races for seats in the Louisiana House of Representatives. Send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.
Early voting continues through Saturday, with eligible voters able to cast ballots from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
