In what could be a preview of what’s to come next November, a gubernatorial candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump just managed to flip the seat from blue to red.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry will replace the term-limited Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards after winning his race amid a crowded field of candidates late last week. Landry had been backed by the former president early on.
“The win is a major victory for the GOP as they reclaim the governor’s mansion for the first time in eight years,” The Associated Press reported, adding: “Edwards is the only Democratic governor in the Deep South.”
Landry said during his victory speech Saturday night: “Today’s election says that our state is united. It’s a wake-up call, and it’s a message that everyone should hear loud and clear, that we, the people in this state, are going to expect more out of our government from here on out.”
Landry won more than half the votes, thereby avoiding what many expected to be a runoff under the state’s “jungle primary” system, the AP reported. The last time there was no runoff race in the Louisiana gubernatorial election was in 2011 and 2007, when Bobby Jindal, a Republican, won.
The AP added:
Landry, 52, has raised the profile of attorney general since taking office in 2016. He has used his office to champion conservative policy positions. More recently, Landry has been in the spotlight over his involvement and staunch support of Louisiana laws that have drawn much debate, including banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender youths, the state’s near-total abortion ban that doesn’t have exceptions for cases of rape and incest, and a law restricting youths’ access to “sexually explicit material” in libraries, which opponents fear will target LGBTQ+ books.
Landry has repeatedly clashed with Edwards over matters in the state, including LGBTQ rights, state finances and the death penalty. However the Republican has also repeatedly put Louisiana in national fights, including over President Joe Biden’s policies that limit oil and gas production and COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform to congratulate Landry.
“A very BIG VOTE in the GREAT STATE OF LOUISIANA for A.G. Jeff Landry, who will now become the Governor. Despite many people running, Jeff was easily able to get a majority, meaning that there will be NO RUNOFF. This is an amazing victory for a man who will be a truly GREAT GOVERNOR. Congratulations to all! DONALD J. TRUMP,” the former president said.
Meanwhile, Trump’s polling numbers against President Joe Biden have been rapidly improving over the past few months as concerns about the economy, inflation, and mass illegal immigration increasingly weigh on Americans’ minds.
Late last month, a leading pollster some consider to be the top in the nation predicted a potential “electoral landslide” for Trump next year as President Joe Biden continues to slide in approval ratings and “Bidenomics” continues to eat into ordinary Americans’ paychecks.
In an interview with radio host Michael Patrick Leahy for The Tennessee Star report on Tuesday, pollster John McLaughlin discussed what current state and national polling means, what polls to watch, and how to analyze new polling as it comes out in the months ahead.
McLaughlin began by noting that the more legal trouble Trump faces, the more his polling numbers rise.
“We see, apparently, every time the Department of Justice or a state left-wing district attorney indicts Donald Trump, his poll numbers go up,” Leahy began. “I’m looking at the Morning Consult poll today. Just came out: Trump 61; DeSantis 13; Haley 7; Ramaswamy 7; Pence 5; Christie 3; Scott 1; Burgum 1. Trump by 48 points.
“Morning Consult has Trump and Biden tied, but I’ve seen Trump up 9 in the Washington Post poll; and Trump up 3 in another. The polls say it’s looking good for Donald J. Trump,” he added, swinging it over to McLaughlin.
McLaughlin then made a startling prediction: “…It would be an electoral landslide because when you look at it, due to the census, there’s a little more electoral vote our way.”
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