Republican Jeff Landry rode the endorsement of former President Donald Trump to victory Saturday in a crowded primary to elect Louisiana’s next governor.
Democrat John Bel Edwards had been term-limited from seeking re-election.
“Thankful beyond belief. I’m ready to get to work for Louisiana!” Landry posted on X after his win.
Thankful beyond belief. I’m ready to get to work for Louisiana!
— Jeff Landry (@JeffLandry) October 15, 2023
The Associated Press called the race for Landry with 95 percent of the votes in, and Landry at 52 percent of the vote, according to Politico.
Democrat Shawn Wilson polled about 25 percent of the vote, while others on the ballot including Hunter Lundy — an evangelical independent — Republican state Sen. Sharon Hewitt, GOP lobbyist Stephen Waguespack, and state treasurer John Schroder, who is also a Republican, received scattered support.
In Saturday’s primary, voters could pick whomever they pleased, regardless of party affiliation. If no one had received a majority — which had been considered the most likely outcome — a runoff would have been held next month.
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In an interview moments later, Landry representative Kate Kelly indicated the depth of the surprise the outright victory represented, according to the Times-Picayune.
“I didn’t have a press release prepared for this,” Kelly said.
Trump, who won about 60 percent of the vote in Louisiana in 2016 and 2020, had backed Landry, according to The New York Times.
Republicans now control the governor’s spot to go along with a legislative supermajority.
“Today’s election says that our state is united,” Landry said after his victory, according to The Associated Press.
“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,” he said.
Thankful beyond belief. I’m ready to get to work for Louisiana!
— Jeff Landry (@JeffLandry) October 15, 2023
“Democratic turnout has been weak,” Louisiana-based pollster John Couvillon said, according to The Hill.
“Normally, early voting tends to favor Democrats, and Republicans as of Saturday night cumulatively have a plus-5 lead,” Couvillon said.
NBC noted that Landry made crime a major focus of his campaign. “Your criminal justice system is broken. … We’re going to hold everyone, and I mean everyone, accountable for violent crime,” he said in his initial campaign ad.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.