BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Gov. John Bel Edwards’ bid for a second term hinges on his ability to make Louisiana voters feel comfortable pulling the lever for a Democrat where many people aren’t inclined to do so. He’s not getting much help from the polarization of Washington.
The Deep South’s only Democratic governor knows talk of national politics won’t help his reelection bid in a state where President Donald Trump won by 20 points, so he remains polite about the Republican president and sidesteps most national political issues, aware of the minefields they present.
“I’m about Louisiana first, as I said when I ran four years ago, and about putting state over party and working with everybody in order to move Louisiana forward. That’s what I’ve done,” Edwards said in an interview. “Any attempts to tie me to what’s going on in Washington are just really, as I mentioned, silly and contrived.”
Edwards skips talk of the 2020 presidential race. He calls the U.S. House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry a “distraction that’s going to keep the federal government from actually governing.” And he describes Trump’s tariffs as damaging to Louisiana, but says he wants the president to “be successful” in the trade dispute.
As if responding to the continued worsening of relationships between Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, Edwards released a 30-second TV ad that touts support from some GOP lawmakers and Republican business leaders.
The spot talks of the governor’s work across party lines on the budget and tax deal and says “he put people over politics,” in an obvious attempt to soothe concerns that he’s a Democrat in a red-leaning state.
Campaign ads and mailers ahead of the Oct. 12 election typically don’t mention Edwards is a Democrat.
While Edwards defends his party affiliation, the moderate Southern Democrat falls out of step with national party leaders on issues such as abortion and gun rights. He’s signed some of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws, and he doesn’t support limits on semi-automatic rifles, for example.
Republican Party leaders suggest Edwards’ election victory in 2015 was a fluke, with him defeating a flawed candidate in David Vitter, who was embroiled in a prostitution scandal and wounded from repeated hits on his character from fellow GOP candidates.
GOP leaders and their two main candidates in the governor’s race, U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham and businessman Eddie Rispone, suggest Edwards is out of step with Louisiana voters on taxes and government spending. They describe him as liberal and anti-Trump.
Rispone, a Baton Rouge contracting company owner who is largely self-financing his campaign, tries to make Trump a wedge issue that differentiates him from both opponents, including his fellow Republican, Abraham.
In debates and an attack ad, Rispone notes that Abraham in 2016 suggested Trump should consider stepping aside from the GOP presidential nomination after a recording emerged in which Trump boasted about groping women. And Rispone notes that Edwards was a supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
“I’m the only one who supported Trump the whole time,” Rispone said at one debate. At another, he said: “I didn’t ask him to step aside. I’m so grateful he didn’t take the advice of Mr. Abraham.”
When faced with that criticism, Abraham, a three-term congressman from northeast Louisiana, doesn’t explain that 2016 statement, instead calling Trump “our wonderful president” and talking about how he votes with the president in Congress.
But while the two Republicans haggle over who has tighter ties to Trump, Edwards can exchange his own tales of working with the White House. The Democratic incumbent rarely criticizes the president, and he points to nine meetings with Trump, including for discussions about transportation and criminal sentencing law changes.
“I think it’s important to have a great working relationship with the president, no matter who he or she might be or what party they come from,” Edwards said during a debate.
Edwards likely will continue to steer the conversation away from national politics in the remaining weeks of the governor’s race. His success in doing so could determine whether he’s reelected. Early voting runs through Saturday.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Melinda Deslatte has covered Louisiana politics for The Associated Press since 2000. Follow her at http://twitter.com/melindadeslatte
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