On Saturday, Republican Jeff Landry won a landslide election to turn the Louisiana governor’s mansion red in one of three major gubernatorial elections occurring this year. This unexpected victory spares him from having to compete with a Democrat in a November runoff, much to the surprise of political observers.
In Louisiana’s gubernatorial election, Landry won an outright victory with more than 50% of the votes, defeating Democrat Shawn Wilson and the rest of the field. This is possible due to a jungle primary where all candidates from either party are open to compete in one single round of voting. However, if no candidate reaches the required percentage then a runoff between the two top vote-getters will occur a month later.
It was widely predicted that Landry, the clear favorite with a long history of service as Louisiana’s Attorney General and previously in Congress, would progress to the runoff to face Wilson in November. However, his impressive performance on Saturday saw him gain more than 50% of the vote, announcing his win as the Associated Press called the race – making Landry the next governor of Louisiana.
BREAKING: Republican Jeff Landry wins election for governor in Louisiana. #APRaceCall at 10:15 p.m. CDT. https://t.co/BkpxdgZBfx
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) October 15, 2023
This year, Republicans had two opportunities to flip governorships from Democrats. Landry won a convincing victory in the deep south state of Louisiana, representing one such flip. In 2023, they have another chance in Kentucky, where GOP Attorney General Daniel Cameron is running against incumbent Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear. Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves is also up for reelection in Mississippi and hoping to ward off a Democrat challenger.
Thankful beyond belief. I’m ready to get to work for Louisiana!
— Jeff Landry (@JeffLandry) October 15, 2023
The Republican Governors Association chairwoman Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa expressed her delight with Landry’s decisive victory, citing that his law and order vision was popular in the state. Nationally, Republicans also shared her enthusiasm.
“Congratulations to Governor-Elect Jeff Landry on tonight’s impressive victory. Governor-Elect Landry stands for law and order, putting Louisiana families first, and building opportunity and economic prosperity,” Reynolds said. “We look forward to working with Governor-Elect Landry as Louisiana’s next governor and congratulate him for flipping Louisiana red and putting away his race early.”
Landry’s win is also a clear win for former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Landry and was actively encouraging his supporters in Louisiana to vote for him in the governor’s race.
On Breitbart News Saturday on SiriusXM 125 the Patriot Channel this summer, Landry predicted that if Republicans won the gubernatorial election in Louisiana this year, it would be beneficial to President Trump’s re-election campaign in 2020. He believes electing people like him as governors across the USA will help Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ vision.
“When we have a critical mass of governors who believe in the same philosophy: freedom, liberty, independence, and less government, you know, a balanced approach to being sure that when we balance Wall Street and Main Street, America can go back to being great again,” Landry said.
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