Returns squash notion of LA Democrat comeback

In today’s election Louisiana Republicans held serve and look to have confirmed that the shock win of Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards was a one-off event.

Concerning the U.S. Senate, Treasurer John Kennedy, the front-runner essentially wire to wire, as expected led the field. That Democrat Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell barely outdistanced Republican Rep. Charles Boustany and who combined with other Democrat votes only drew 30 percent – compared to Edwards getting 40 percent by himself in his general election contest – shows he is toast, with Kennedy finally realizing the Senate on his third try over a dozen years.

Congressional contests ended as expected. Excepting the Second, the majority-minority district where Democrat Rep. Cedric Richmond easily dispatched fellow partisan Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden, of all other districts only Democrat lawyer Marshall Jones managed to make it into a runoff, barely leading Republican state Rep. Mike Johnson. This ensures the election of Johnson, who will collect most of the votes of the other Republicans who ran, who got almost 50 percent – with the silver lining for Democrats being the most articulate social conservative in the Legislature will exit that body.

Perhaps most interesting among the other GOP wins, in the Third Public Service Commissioner Republican Scott Angelle barely outdistanced law enforcement officer Republican Clay Higgins. As Angelle has an aura of incumbency after a third-place showing to Edwards and votes not for him disproportionately will vote for Higgins, this could turn into a much different race than a presumed coronation of Angelle.

In the one contested PSC race, businessman and GOP activist Mike Francis easily won, keeping the seat in the party’s hands and a majority on it. The Third Supreme Court District might be the only dark cloud for the GOP, where appellate court judge Jimmy Genovese, an ally of trial lawyers, narrowly won. Even as he ran as a Republican, increasing the GOP majority on the body, he would replace a Democrat with largely the same sympathies to trial lawyers.

Louisiana Democrats dreamed that somehow they had picked the lock to win future statewide races. It turns out that they mistook a lightning strike for that.