Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2015

Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2015

November 21, 2015

Nominee John Bel Edwards David Vitter Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 646,924 505,940 Percentage 56.1% 43.9%

Parish results of the 2015 Louisiana gubernatorial election.

Governor before election Bobby Jindal Republican Elected Governor John Bel Edwards Democratic

The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 2015 was conducted to choose a new 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.

Under Louisiana's jungle primary system, all candidates appeared on the same ballot, regardless of party and voters may vote for any candidate, regardless of their party affiliation. As no candidate received a majority of the vote during the primary election on October 24, 2015, a runoff election was held on November 21, 2015 between the top two candidates in the primary. Louisiana is the only state that has a jungle primary system (California and Washington have a similar "top two primary" system).

The runoff election featured Democratic Minority Leader of the Louisiana House of Representatives John Bel Edwards and Republican Senator David Vitter, as they were the top two vote getters in the primary. Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne and Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle were eliminated in the jungle primary.

In the runoff, which was held November 21, 2015, Bel Edwards defeated Vitter by a count of 56.1% to 43.9%.^[1] Edwards became the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Louisiana since 2008, when Mary Landrieu won her third term in the United States Senate. The election was one of the most expensive in history, with over $50 million spent by candidates and outside groups.^[2]

Candidates

Republican Party

Filed

• Scott Angelle, Public Service Commissioner and former Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana^[3][4]
• Jay Dardenne, Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana^[5]
• David Vitter, U.S. Senator^[6]

Declined

• John Neely Kennedy, Louisiana State Treasurer (running for re-election)^[7]
• Newell Normand, Sheriff of Jefferson Parish (endorsed Dardenne)^[8]
• Michael G. Strain, Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry (running for re-election)^[9]
• Rodney Alexander, former Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs and former U.S. Representative^[10]
• Burl Cain, Warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary^[11][12]
• Gerald Long, State Senator^[13]
• Buddy Roemer, former Governor, former U.S. Representative and candidate for President in 2012^[14]

Democratic Party

Filed

• John Bel Edwards, Minority Leader of the Louisiana House of Representatives^[3][15]
• Cary Deaton, candidate for Governor in 2011
• SL Simpson

Declined

• Edwin Edwards, former Governor and former U.S. Representative (ineligible due to felony convictions for bribery and corruption)^[16]
• Mary Landrieu, former U.S. Senator and candidate for Governor in 1995^[17]
• Mitch Landrieu, Mayor of New Orleans and former Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana^[18][19]
• John Georges, Businessman^[20]
• Jason Williams, New Orleans City Council President^[21]
• Tony Clayton, Prosecutor of the 18th Judicial District Court, member of the Southern University system board ^[22]
• James Bernhard, businessman^[23][24]
• Foster Campbell, Public Service Commissioner, former State Senator and candidate for Governor in 2007^[25]

Independents

Filed

• Beryl Billiot, restaurant owner and former Marine^[26]
• Jeremy Odom, minister^[27]
• Eric Paul Orgeron^[28]

Declined

• Melvin Slack, candidate for Mayor of Shreveport in 2014^[29]
• Russel L. Honoré, retired Lieutenant General and former Commander of Joint Task Force Katrina^{[30][31][32][33]}

Endorsements

Scott Angelle

Organizations Terrebonne Republican Party[34] Republican Party of East Baton Rouge Parish[35] Livingston Parish Republican Party[36] Publishers Greater Baton Rouge Business Report[37] The Hayride, Louisiana Conservative Political Commentary Site[38] Public Figures Ali Landry, former Miss USA[39] Politicians Paul Hardy, 48th Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana Fred Mills, Louisiana State Senator Guy Cormier, St. Martin Parish President

Jay Dardenne
Politicians Newell Normand, Sheriff of Jefferson Parish[8]

John Bel Edwards

Organizations Louisiana AFL–CIO[40] Louisiana Democratic State Central Committee[41] Louisiana Federation of Teachers[42] Louisiana Sheriff's Association[43] Louisiana State Troopers Association[44] (endorsed during runoff campaign) Politicians Mitch Landrieu, Mayor of New Orleans[45] Jamie Mayo, Mayor of Monroe[46] Jay Dardenne, Lt. Governor of Louisiana and former candidate for Governor[47] (endorsed during runoff campaign) Newspapers Gambit[48]

David Vitter

Organizations Gun Owners of America[49] Louisiana Association of Business and Industry[50] (endorsed during runoff campaign) Politicians Ralph Abraham, U.S. Representative (R-LA)[51] Charles Boustany, U.S. Representative (R-LA)[52][53] George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States[54] Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida and 2016 presidential candidate.[55] Bill Cassidy, U.S. Senator (R-LA)[56] Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey and 2016 presidential candidate.[57] Joey Durel, Lafayette City-Parish President[53] John Fleming, U.S. Representative (R-LA)[58] John Neely Kennedy, Treasurer of Louisiana[59] Rand Paul, U.S. Senator (R-KY) and 2016 presidential candidate.[60]

Jungle primary

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Scott Angelle (R)	Jay Dardenne (R)	John Bel Edwards (D)	John Kennedy (R)	Mitch Landrieu (D)	David Vitter (R)	Other	Unde- cided
MarblePortLLC	October 20–21, 2015	1464	± 3%	12.7%	14.1%	40.5%	—	—	28.5%	—	4.3%
MRI	October 15–19, 2015	600	± ?%	17%	14%	36%	—	—	19%	2%	12%
Harper Polling (R)	October 16–17, 2015	612	± 3.9%	14%	14%	36%	—	—	26%	—	9%
KPLC/Raycom Media	October 7–13, 2015	602	± 4%	7%	8%	24%	—	—	21%	—	37%
The Advocate/WWL-TV	September 20–23, 2015	800	± 3.46%	15%	14%	24%	—	—	24%	—	18%
Public Policy Polling	September 21–22, 2015	616	± 4%	15%	14%	28%	—	—	27%	—	17%
Verne Kennedy	July 27–31, 2015	600	± 4%	25%	12%	20%	—	—	22%	—	21%
MarblePort	June 17, 2015	1415	± 2.6%	11.1%	10.4%	28.8%	—	—	34.1%	—	15.6%
Verne Kennedy	May 27–29, 2015	700	± 3.5%	17%	12%	29%	—	—	29%	—	13%
SM&O Research	May 5, 2015	600	± 4.0%	6%	17%	25%	—	—	38%	—	16%
MarblePort	March 17, 2015	1,071	± 2.99%	7%	14%	31%	—	—	34%	—	14%
Triumph	March 5, 2015	1,655	± 2.4%	7%	15%	33%	—	—	35%	—	11%
NSO Research*	Jan. 10–13, 2015	600	± 4%	2%	10%	20%	13%	—	24%	—	32%
SM&O Research	Dec. 9–11, 2014	600	± ?	3.1%	18.6%	25.7%	—	—	36.3%	—	16.3%
Suffolk	Oct. 23–26, 2014	500	± 4%	3%	9.8%	3.8%	—	22.6%	31.6%	—	29.2%
Multi-Quest	Oct. 22–24, 2014	606	± 4%	2.3%	10.9%	4%	—	—	25.9%	3.8%[61]	53.1%
SM&O Research	April 28–30, 2014	600	± ?	3.8%	10.5%	5.5%	11.7%	28.9%	28.9%	—	10.6%
PSB	April 2014	601	± ?	—	14%	17%	8%	—	18%	14%[62]	29%
Magellan	Mar. 24–26, 2014	600	± 4.1%	—	13.1%	4.6%	8.5%	26.4%	27.6%	—	19.8%
V/C Research	Feb. 20–25, 2014	600	± 4%	—	11%	8%	9%	33%	25%	—	15%
Kitchens Group**	Feb. 10–12, 2014	600	± 4.2%	—	9%	21%	7%	—	26%	—	38%
WPAOR^	Nov. 12–14, 2013	800	± 3.5%	—	12%	2%	9%	20%	25%	11%[63]	11
				—	22%	—	—	29%	35%	—	14%
SM&O Research	Nov. 6–12, 2013	600	± 4%	2.1%	18%	7.9%	18.9%	—	30.3%	—	22.9%
Magellan	Oct. 2–4, 2012	2,862	± 1.9%	—	6.5%	—	7.2%	29.4%	31.1%	9.1%[64]	16.7%

• * Internal poll for the John Kennedy campaign
• ** Internal poll for the John Bel Edwards campaign
• ^ Internal poll for the Jay Dardenne campaign

Results

Louisiana gubernatorial election Jungle Primary, 2015
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Bel Edwards	444,517	39.89
	Republican	David Vitter	256,300	23.00
	Republican	Scott Angelle	214,982	19.29
	Republican	Jay Dardenne	166,656	14.96
	Democratic	Cary Deaton	11,763	1.06
	Democratic	S.L. Simpson	7,420	0.67
	Independent	Beryl Billiot	5,694	0.51
	Independent	Jeremy Odom	4,756	0.43
	Independent	Eric Orgeron	2,248	0.20
Majority			188,217	16.89
Total votes			1,114,336	100

Runoff

On November 5, 2015, Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne, who finished fourth in the primary election, endorsed Democrat Edwards in the upcoming general election against his intraparty rival, Senator David Vitter. Dardenne made the announcement at "Free Speech Alley" in front of the LSU Student Union building in Baton Rouge.^[65] After the primary, polls showed Edwards with a commanding lead over Vitter. Verne Kennedy of Market Research Insight placed Edwards ahead, 54 to 38 percent or 51 to 40 percent, depending on the level of turnout among African-American voters, either 25 or 20 percent, accordingly.^[66]

Dardenne's backing of Edwards drew fire from state Republican chairman Roger Villere and Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, who termed the endorsement a betrayal: "You cannot claim to be a conservative fighter for Louisiana principles and publicly endorse an Obama liberal like Mr. Edwards," the two chairmen wrote. Vitter, who had sought Dardenne's endorsement, said he remains "very excited about our campaign and the tens of thousands of conservative Louisiana voters who have jumped on board in the past week, including so many that voted for Jay. We wish Jay and his family the best."^[67]

Third-place contender Scott Angelle never spoke about any role that he would play in the general election, prior to the election.^[67]

A debate between Edwards and Vitter was held on November 10 by Louisiana Public Broadcasting and the Council for a Better Louisiana.^[68]

Early voting was possible from November 7 until November 14. Despite having one fewer day due to Veterans Day, turnout was significantly higher compared to the primary election early voting, especially among black voters and in urban parishes.^[69]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	David Vitter (R)	John Bel Edwards (D)	Undecided
RRH Elections	November 12–16, 2015	359	± 5%	42%	48%	10%
JMC Analytics	November 14–16, 2015	635	± 3.9%	35%	51%	13%
JMC Analytics	November 14–16, 2015	635	± 4%	38%	54%	8%
Market Research Insight	November 11–14, 2015	600	± 4%	38%	53%	9%
Hayride/MarblePort	November 11, 2015	978	± 3.1%	42%	48%	10%
Market Research Insight	November 11, 2015	600	± 4%	38%	52%	10%
UNO Survey Research Center	November 2–8, 2015	600	± 4%	34%	56%	10%
Triumph Campaigns	November 5, 2015	1,818	± 3%	41%	49%	10%
WVLA/JMC Analytics	October 28–31, 2015	600	± 4%	32%	52%	16%
Market Research Insight	October 27–28, 2015	600	± 4.1%	38%	54%	8%
Anzalone Liszt Grove	October 26–28, 2015	700	± 3.7%	40%	52%	7%
KPLC/Raycom Media	October 7–13, 2015	602	± 4%	33%	52%	?%
The Advocate/WWL-TV	September 20–23, 2015	800	± 3.46%	41%	45%	?%
Public Policy Polling	September 21–22, 2015	616	± 4%	38%	50%	12%
Public Policy Polling	September 25–28, 2014	1,141	± 2.9%	50%	32%	18%
Public Policy Polling	June 26–29, 2014	664	± 3.8%	52%	30%	17%
The Kitchen Group*	February 10–12, 2014	600	± 4.2%	38%	32%	31%
Public Policy Polling	February 6–9, 2014	635	± 3.9%	51%	30%	19%

*Internal poll for the John Bel Edwards campaign

Bel Edwards win was the first statewide win for Democrats in Louisiana since Mary Landrieu won a third term to the senate in 2008. Bel Edwards performance was surprisingly well for being a Democrat in Louisiana. Bel Edwards especially performed well in Caddo Parish home of Shreveport, East Baton Rouge Parish home of Baton Rouge, and especially in the reliably Democratic Orleans Parish home of New Orleans. Turnout was slightly higher in the November runoff then in the October Jungle Primary.

Louisiana gubernatorial election runoff, 2015
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Bel Edwards	646,924	56.1
	Republican	David Vitter	505,940	43.9
Majority			140,931	12.2
Voter turnout			40.2%
	Democratic gain from Republican

See also

• United States gubernatorial elections, 2015
• Governors of Louisiana

References

1. ASSOCIATED PRESS (22 November 2015). "John Bel Edwards Wins Louisiana Gubernatorial Election". The Huffington Post.
2. "$50M spent on Louisiana governor race, campaign records show". thenewsstar.com. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
3. Alford, Jeremy (May 6, 2013). "Saved by the Bel?". Gambit. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
4. Avery, Cole (October 2, 2014). "Scott Angelle to run for governor in 2015". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
5. Adelson, Jeff (March 20, 2013). "Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne 'intends' to run for governor in 2015". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
6. "David Vitter Announces Run for Governor". Roll Call. January 21, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
7. O'Donoghue, Julia (April 9, 2015). "State Treasurer John Kennedy will seek reelection, not run for governor or attorney general". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
8. "Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand not running for governor, says poll in article is months old". NOLA.com. June 9, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
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10. "Alexander says he may run for Louisiana governor in 2015". The Town Talk. August 13, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
11. Avery, Cole (December 10, 2014). "Angola warden Burl Cain mulling run for governor". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
12. Deslatte, Melinda (January 6, 2015). "Angola warden Burl Cain says he might run for La. governor". The Town Talk. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
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15. Adelson, Jeff (February 10, 2013). "John Bel Edwards announces he is running for governor in 2015". The New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
16. Greater New Orleans (2014-03-17). "It's official: Edwin Edwards is running for Congress". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
17. "Landrieu run again? 'Oh Lord, no'". Politico. December 10, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
18. James Carville (July 8, 2014). "James Carville: Four good reasons to watch Louisiana race this season". The Hill. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
19. Ballard, Mark (April 27, 2015). "Mitch Landrieu says commitment to New Orleans will keep him out of governor's race". The Advocate. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
20. "John Georges is 'monitoring' the Louisiana governor's race, The News-Star reports". Nola.com. August 5, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
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28. url=http://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=218927.0
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31. "Retired Louisiana Lt. General Russell Honore" may run for governor". KTAL-TV. February 19, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
32. Stewart, Robert (February 2, 2015). "Former Katrina pointman Honoré still mulling run for governor". Greater Baton Rouge Business Report. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
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34. "Terrebonne GOP endorses Angelle for Governor". Daily Comet.
35. "Vitter Angelle Endorsed By Republican Party of East Baton Rouge Parish". My ArkLaMiss.
36. "Livingston Parish Republican committee endorses only 1 of 5 incumbents running for council". The Advocate.
37. "Publisher Endorses Oct 24 Election". Business Report.
38. "The Hayride's Endorsement Symposium: The Governor's Race". The Hayride.
39. "Former Miss USA Ali Landry Makes Her Choice For Louisiana Governor". I Agree To See.
40. Crisp, Elizabeth (March 13, 2015). "Labor group endorses Edwards in governor’s race". The Advocate. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
41. "Democratic State Central Committee Announces Endorsements for Governor and Secretary of State Candidates". Louisiana Democrats. March 30, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
42. Sentell, Will (March 11, 2015). "Teachers’ union backs John Bel Edwards for governor". The Advocate. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
43. Moreau, Andre (30 October 2015). "Endorsements roll in for Vitter, Edwards during gubernatorial runoff". WAFB. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
44. "Troopers endorse Edwards for governor". thenewsstar.com. 13 November 2015.
45. Adelson, Jeff (October 30, 2015). "Mayor Landrieu offers low-key endorsement for John Bel Edwards". The Advocate. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
46. Hilburn, Greg (September 9, 2015). "Monroe mayor endorses Edwards for governor". The Times. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
47. Litten, Kevin (November 5, 2015). "Republican Jay Dardenne endorses Democrat John Bel Edwards for Louisiana governor". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
48. "Endorsement: John Bel Edwards for Louisiana governor". Gambit.
49. "Vitter Picks Up Endorsement from Gun Rights Group". myarklamiss.com. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
50. "Vitter lands LABI nod as expected". thenewsstar.com. 12 November 2015.
51. "David Vitter picks up gubernatorial endorsements from Louisiana congressmen Abraham, Fleming". The Advocate. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
52. "Boustany endorsing Vitter for La. governor". The Advertiser. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
53. "Boustany, Durel endorse Vitter in his run for governor". KATC.com. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
54. "George H.W. Bush backs David Vitter in governor's race". The Daily Advertiser. The Associated Press. Retrieved 21 March 2015. |archive-url= is malformed: flag (help)
55. O'Donoghue, Julia (April 9, 2015). "Jeb Bush endorses David Vitter in Louisiana governor's race". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
56. Boone, Timothy (February 18, 2015). "US Sen Bill Cassidy endorses David Vitter for governor". The Advocate. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
57. O'Donoghue, Julia (January 8, 2015). "Chris Christie sends fundraising letter for David Vitter". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
58. "Fleming endorses Vitter for Governor". KTBS-TV. Archived from the original on 21 March 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
59. "Vitter picks up backing from treasurer in governor's race". WBRZ. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
60. Camia, Catalina (February 10, 2015). "Rand Paul endorses David Vitter for Louisiana governor". USA Today. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
61. Foster Campbell (D)
62. Newell Normand (R) 10%, Mike Strain (R) 4%
63. Rodney Alexander (R) 4%, Foster Campbell (D) 2%, John Georges (D) 2%, Jim Bernhard (D) 1%, Gerald Long (R) 1%, Newell Normand (R) 1%
64. John Georges (D) 6%, Mike Strain (R) 3.1%
65. Greg Hilburn (November 5, 2015). "Republican Dardenne endorses Democrat Edwards". The Shreveport Times.
66. "Three polls show John Bel Edwards leading David Vitter in stunning turn of events surrounding governor's race". The Baton Rouge Advocate. November 3, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
67. Greg Hilburn (November 5, 2015). "Dardenne endorses Edwards, called traitor by GOP". The Shreveport Times. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
68. "Vitter, Edwards face-off in first televised gubernatorial runoff debate". WWLTV. November 11, 2015.
69. "Decision 2015: Runoff Early Voting “Post Game Report”". JMC Enterprises of Louisiana/JMC Analytics and Polling. November 15, 2015.

External links

• David Vitter for Governor
• John Bel Edwards for Governor