Unlike the months-long primary campaign capped by the Oct. 12 election, there’s now less than a month before the Nov. 16 runoff election with early voting set for Nov. 2-9.
That’s why Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, who finished first in the primary with 47%, and Republican Baton Rouge businessman Eddie Rispone, who earned a spot in the runoff with a 27% second-place finish, have bolted from the gate.
According to The News Star, the following are six things to watch for in the coming days:
• Rispone will likely continue to ride the Trump train. He began his primary campaign with a TV ad that linked him almost exclusively to President Trump, and followed the same formula this week.
• Edwards will continue to tell voters that the Medicaid expansion is at risk. The governor has said many times expanding Medicaid in Louisiana was the easiest decision he made since taking office. Though Rispone said he won’t repeal the expansion, he did say he would freeze enrollment, saying the expansion is “unsustainable.”
• Trump will almost certainly return to Louisiana to rally Republicans to vote for Rispone. He drew an over-capacity crowd in Lake Charles on the eve of the election last week.
• Rep. Ralph Abraham’s voters might embrace Rispone. Abraham immediately endorsed Rispone in his concession speech Saturday, but said he doesn’t plan to join Rispone on the campaign trail. Unknown is how his voter base will respond at the polls.
• Can Edwards overcome history? No modern Louisiana governor has won an election when pushed to a runoff. But to be fair, it’s only happened once in 1987 when then Gov. Edwin Edwin Edwards conceded to Buddy Roemer after the primary election rather than move on to the runoff.
• Will voters get to see Edwards and Rispone square off in a TV debate? Edwards has agreed to participate in a Louisiana Public Broadcasting/Council for a Better Louisiana debate on Oct. 30, but organizers are awaiting a response from Rispone. Read the full story.
