Republican Gain: Jeff Landry Elected Governor of Louisiana
By 270toWin Staff
October 15, 2023, 9:34 AM ET
State Attorney General Jeff Landry was elected governor of Louisiana on Saturday. Landry secured a majority of the vote in the primary, avoiding a general election runoff.
He will succeed Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, who was ineligible to run for a third consecutive term due to term limit laws.
While Landry was favored to be the state's next governor, he had to overcome some daunting math to do it in the first round. There were 14 other candidates, including seven Republicans, on the ballot.
Landry will take office in January, at which time the state government will be a Republican trifecta.
This November, Kentucky and Mississippi will hold gubernatorial elections. Despite both being deep red states like Louisiana, there is some intrigue in both races.
In Kentucky, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear is seeking a second term against state Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Beshear has led in the polls, but polling in the state doesn't have a great record of accuracy. Most forecasters give Beshear a slight edge.
In Mississippi, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves is also seeking a second term. He is opposed by Brandon Presley, a state Public Service Commissioner. Presley is a credible candidate - and a second cousin of Elvis - but has an uphill battle in this conservative state.
Should he prevail in the popular vote, Presley won't have to deal with an electoral college-like provision in the State Constitution, repealed by voters in 2020. Under that law, candidates for statewide office needed to win the overall popular vote AND the popular vote in a majority of the state's 122 House districts. If a candidate failed to do both, the election would be decided by the Republican-dominated State House.
