The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 2019 will be held to elect the Governor of Louisiana. Incumbent Governor John Bel Edwards is running for re-election to a second term.
John Bel Edwards is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 56th Governor of Louisiana since 2016. He was previously the Minority Leader of the Louisiana House of Representatives for two terms. He left the state legislature to run for governor in 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated Republican U.S. Senator David Vitter in the second round of the 2015 election. He is a United States Army veteran, having served with the 82nd Airborne Division.
Under Louisiana's jungle primary system, all candidates appear on the same ballot, regardless of party, and voters may vote for any candidate, regardless of their party affiliation. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote during the primary election on October 12, 2019, a runoff election will be held on November 16, 2019, between the top two candidates in the primary.[1] Louisiana is the only state that has a jungle primary system (California and Washington have a similar "top two primary" system).
California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With 39.6 million residents, California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. The state capital is Sacramento. The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 9.7 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is California's most populous city, and the country's second most populous, after New York City. California also has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The City and County of San Francisco is both the country's second-most densely populated major city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs.
Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Named for George Washington, the first president of the United States, the state was made out of the western part of the Washington Territory, which was ceded by Britain in 1846 in accordance with the Oregon Treaty in the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. Olympia is the state capital; the state's largest city is Seattle. Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States.
A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office, regardless of respective political party, run against each other at once, instead of being segregated by political party. It is also known as a jungle primary, or qualifying primary. In most cases there are two winners who advance to the general election, which must be a normal first-past-the-post election, in this case it is called a top-two primary.
John Georges, businessman and candidate for governor in 2007[5]
A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for an elected office but seldom wins. The term is not generally extended to incumbent politicians who successfully defend their seats repeatedly.
Mitchell Joseph Landrieu is an American politician and lawyer who was Mayor of New Orleans from 2010 to 2018. A Democrat, Landrieu served as Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana from 2004 to 2010 prior to becoming mayor.
New Orleans is a consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana. With an estimated population of 393,292 in 2017, it is the most populous city in Louisiana. A major port, New Orleans is considered an economic and commercial hub for the broader Gulf Coast region of the United States.
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, the most populous parish in Louisiana. It is the 99th most populous city in the United States, and second-largest city in Louisiana after New Orleans. It is also the 16th most populous state capital. As of the U.S. Census Bureau's July 2017 estimate, Baton Rouge had a population of 227,549, down from 229,493 at the 2010 census. Baton Rouge is the center of Greater Baton Rouge, the second-largest metropolitan area in Louisiana, with a population of 834,159 as of 2017, up from 802,484 in 2010 and 829,719 in 2015.
The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major political parties in the United States; the other is its historic rival, the Democratic Party.
Ralph Lee Abraham Jr., is an American politician, medical doctor, and former veterinarian from Alto, Louisiana, who won election on December 6, 2014, as a Republican to represent Louisiana's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Abraham is running for Governor of Louisiana in the 2019 Louisiana gubernatorial election. If elected, he will be 65 years old.
Robert LeBreton Allain, II, known as Bret Allain, was born November 18, 1958 and brought up in St. Mary and Iberia parishes in Louisiana. He is a sugar cane farmer and businessman from Jeanerette, Louisiana and is a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate from District 21, which encompasses all of St. Mary and portions of Iberia, Lafourche, and Terrebonne parishes.
Garret Neal Graves is the United States Representative from Louisiana's 6th congressional district. In a runoff election on December 6, 2014, Graves, a Republican, defeated the Democratic candidate, former Governor Edwin Edwards.
Troy Michael Hebert is a politician from Jeanerette, Louisiana, who is the former Commissioner of the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC). Hebert was appointed commissioner by Republican Governor Bobby Jindal and served in the role until December 2015. He has served in the Louisiana House of Representatives and Louisiana State Senate.
John Neely Kennedy is an American attorney and politician who has served as the junior United States Senator from Louisiana since 2017. A Democrat-turned Republican, he previously served as the Louisiana state treasurer from 2000 to 2017.
Jeffrey Martin Landry is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Attorney General of Louisiana. On January 11, 2016, he succeeded Buddy Caldwell, the man whom he unseated in the runoff election held on November 21, 2015. Landry is a former U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 3rd congressional district. Landry is a member of the Republican Party.
On Inauguration Day, House Republicans, in a break with tradition, elected their own speaker, Rep. Taylor Barras of New Iberia, over Edwards' choice, Rep. Walt Leger of New Orleans. This move was said to be orchestrated by House GOP Chairman Lance Harris, a potential gubernatorial 2019 candidate and frequent Edwards critic.[19] Edwards and Republican Legislative leaders have clashed repeatedly over budget, tax and spending measures.
Attorney GeneralJeff Landry is perhaps Edwards' most prominent detractor, filing multiple lawsuits against the governor and frequently criticizing him in the media. The two mostly disagree on social policies, such as Landry's staunch opposition to Edwards' executive order providing protections for LGBT workers of state government and contractors.[20] Landry has defeated Edwards in every legal challenge so far.[21] Landry also assumed the leadership of David Vitter's Political Action Committee, the Louisiana Committee for a Republican Majority. Former Vitter Chief of Staff Kyle Rukert heads the groups' operations.[22] They were instrumental to Clay Higgins' upset Congressional victory over Scott Angelle in 2016 and other Republican gains in the state.[23] Landry has closely aligned with PresidentDonald Trump and attended Trump's 2017 State of the Union speech.[24]
Edwards also become a favorite target of CongressmanGarret Graves, a Republican from Baton Rouge and former aide to Governor Bobby Jindal. Graves frequently criticized the governor during the state's response to the 2016 August floods in the state. The two notably sparred during a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, of which Graves is a member. Edwards' aides called the exchange a "political ambush" while Graves accused the governor of lying.[25] Graves is also closely aligned with the Trump Administration and donated $300 to the Trump Inaugural fund.[26] Graves also accompanied Vice PresidentMike Pence during a visit to parts of the Baton Rouge area in May 2017.[27]
As the only Democratic Governor in the Deep South, Edwards and his agenda also been the target of numerous attacks from numerous groups affiliated with the Republican Party such as America Rising and Americans for Prosperity.[28] Edwards, however, has said he is unbothered by and "just doesn't pay attention to" those groups. He went on to classify them as "a Washington, D.C., political action committee, trying to bring the never-ending campaign cycle to Louisiana."[28]
Aware of their gubernatorial ambitions, Edwards and his aides have repeatedly spoofed both John Kennedy and Jeff Landry during their traditional response skits at Baton Rouge's Gridiron Show.[29]
According to fundraising reports filed in 2016, Edwards had raised close to $3.3 million for his 2019 re-election effort.[30][31] By comparison, Landry had $544,000 on hand for a potential future campaign.[31] Graves and Kennedy had yet to form separate entities for statewide campaigns per Louisiana Law.
In the summer of 2017, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser announced that he would not be a candidate for governor in 2019, and had decided to run for re-election. Nungesser, said that running for re-election was his plan all along and he had disclosed those plans to then Governor-Elect John Bel Edwards during the transition.
As of the fall of 2017, Congressman Ralph Abraham was reported to be running polls and assembling a staff to enter the race.
Charles William Boustany Jr. is an American politician, physician, and former Congressman from Lafayette, Louisiana, who served as the U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 3rd congressional district from 2005 to 2017. The district, numbered as the 7th District from 2005 to 2013, is located in the southwestern portion of the state and includes Lafayette and Lake Charles. He is a member of the Republican Party.
The Republican Party of Louisiana is the U.S. state of Louisiana's organization of the national Republican Party. The state chairman is Louis Gurvich, a businessman from New Orleans, who was elected on February 24, 2018. Since the late 20th century, white conservatives in the states have mostly shifted to the Republican Party from the Democratic Party. As of 2016, every statewide elected official in Louisiana, with the exception of the governor, is a Republican.
The 2004 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John Breaux decided to retire after three terms in office. Republican U.S. Representative David Vitter won the jungle primary with 51% of the vote and avoided a runoff, becoming the first ever Republican to be popularly elected to the U.S. Senate from Louisiana.
William Harold Nungesser, is an American politician serving since January 11, 2016, as the 54th Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana.
Daniel Albert Claitor is a Baton Rouge attorney and a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate.
Scott Anthony Angelle is an American politician who is the current director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement in Washington, D.C. From 2013 to 2017, he was the District 2 member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, an elected five-person utility regulatory body.
John Cameron Henry, Jr. is an American state legislator and business analyst from Metairie, Louisiana, who has been serving since January 2008 as a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 82 in Jefferson and Orleans parishes.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 and elected the six U.S. Representatives from the state of Louisiana, one from each of the state's six congressional districts, a loss of one seat following reapportionment according to the results of the 2010 Census. The elections coincided with elections for other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election. A jungle primary will take place on November 6, with a runoff, if necessary, held on December 8.
Alan Thomas Seabaugh is an American attorney from Shreveport, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 5 in Caddo Parish.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Louisiana. As no candidate won a majority of the vote, a runoff was held on December 6, 2014.
The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 2015 was held on November 21, 2015, to elect the governor of Louisiana. Incumbent Republican Governor Bobby Jindal was not eligible to run for re-election to a third term because of term limits established by the Louisiana Constitution.
United States gubernatorial elections were held in three states in 2015 as part of the 2015 United States elections. In Kentucky and Mississippi the elections were held on Tuesday, November 3, and in Louisiana, as no candidate received a majority of votes at the primary election on Saturday, October 24, 2015, a runoff election was held on Saturday, November 21. The last regular gubernatorial elections for all three states were in 2011. Democrats won the open seat of term-limited Republican Bobby Jindal in Louisiana, while Republicans reelected incumbent Phil Bryant in Mississippi and picked up the seat of term-limited Democrat Steve Beshear in Kentucky.
The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 to elect the six U.S. Representatives from the state of Louisiana, one from each of the state's six congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including the United States Senate.
Elbert Lee Guillory is a former member of the Louisiana State Senate. An American Republican, he represented District 24, including his native Opelousas, and several rural precincts, from May 2, 2009, when he won a special election, until January 11, 2016, when his full term to which he was elected in 2011 ended.
The 2016 United States Senate election in Louisiana took place on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Louisiana, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the six U.S. Representatives from the state of Louisiana, one from each of the state's six congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
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