Jeff Landry, who enjoyed endorsements from both former President Donald Trump and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), has won the Louisiana governor’s race with 52 percent of the vote, eliminating the need for a runoff election.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, a prominent Republican with close affiliations to former President Donald Trump, clinched victory in the state’s gubernatorial race on Saturday night. This triumph marks a significant win for the GOP in a southern state that has been under the leadership of Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards for the past eight years.
Jeff Landry secured nearly 52 percent of the votes in a competitive field of candidates during Louisiana’s open primary. In this system, all candidates, regardless of their party, participate in the same election.
Had no candidate obtained the majority of the votes, Louisiana law would have required the top two candidates to face off in a runoff. However, since Landry garnered more than 50 percent of the vote, he successfully averted a second round of voting and is now the governor-elect of Louisiana.
Jeff Landry, known for his strong support of former President Donald Trump and his unwavering Republican stance, based his campaign on a tough-on-crime agenda. He has consistently advocated for conservative policies in Louisiana, including measures such as a ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth and an almost complete ban on abortion. Notably, the state’s stringent abortion ban lacks exemptions for cases of rape or incest.
Jeff Landry was one of the 19 state attorneys general who, in June, jointly signed a letter requesting the Biden administration to grant their offices access to information about residents who had received gender-affirming or abortion care in other states. This action reflects his involvement in advocating for more transparency and oversight in these matters. President Donald Trump
John Bel Edwards was ineligible to run for re-election due to term limits. The Democratic candidate, former Louisiana transportation secretary Shawn Wilson, secured the second position in the race, garnering slightly more than 25 percent of the vote, as per unofficial results from the Louisiana secretary of state’s office.