Tonight, John Bel Edwards made the gubernatorial runoff in Louisiana. He led the "unbeatable" David Vitter 40% to 23%. Yes, the David Vitter with $8,000,000 in campaign money (counting his SuperPac) and universal name recognition in the state, got trounced by a relatively unknown member of the state House of Representatives from a rural area north of Lake Pontchartrain, with a fraction of the money available to the sitting senator.
How did this happen? It happened because John Bel Edwards is the perfect Democratic candidate for Louisiana. He is a West Point graduate who commanded a company of paratroopers in the 82nd Airborne Division, and then came home to raise his family. After being elected to the state House, he was virtually the only voice speaking against Bobby Jindal's misrule back when Jindal had a 70% approval rating. He is a real family man, with real family values that he lives every day. He has been a voice in the wilderness for adequate funding for both K-12 education (his wife is a teacher) and higher education, and he has been trying for three years to force the state to accept the Medicaid expansion under the ACA. Sure, he's socially conservative, but he does not support using the power of the state to impose his personal views on the entire populace.
And, of course, David Vitter is one of the most disgusting candidates to ever run in a statewide race.
Those of us in Louisiana who know John Bel and know the difference he can make in this state have done this by ourselves. His campaign has received essentially no support from the national party or national progressive groups. It's time for that to change. John Bel Edwards can be the next governor of Louisiana; he deserves the kind of support that Democratic candidates get in other states.