Free Republic

The answer is less than 24 hours after he was elected. John Bel Edwards tried to run an issue free campaign for governor. Instead, he made the election about David Vitter’s character. While he was busy destroying a good man, Edwards didn’t really go into his vision for Louisiana. Despite his best efforts though, he made some promises to the state. One of them was to hold two special sessions this coming year to deal with structural budget crisis the state is in. Here’s John Bel Edwards making the case via some questions posed on social media. Plans or priorities...

U.S. marshals and New Orleans SWAT team members on Monday arrested the suspect in the shooting of a Tulane University medical student who has been hailed as a good Samaritan for trying to stop an abduction. Police said the man quickly confessed to the crime. -- Police said video surveillance showed Cain dragging a woman to his SUV about 4 a.m. Friday near Magazine and St. Mary streets. Police have not said what they believe Cain intended to do to the woman. But at just that moment, police said, Gold drove up and tried to intervene in the situation. Cain...

You may not believe who is abusing America’s immigration laws to secure cheap labor — public schools. "The foreign teacher trafficking business has stretched from the Prince George's County, Maryland, school district (which was ordered to pay $5.9 million in back wages and penalties for H-1B abuses in 2011) to the East Baton Rouge, Louisiana, school system (which required H-1B teachers to pay a $50 interview fee, $5,000 job application fee, and a $7,500 additional fee to a recruitment agency) and beyond," Michelle Malkin and John Miano write in their new book, Sold Out: How High-Tech Billionaires and Bipartisan Beltway...

U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany announced today he will seek the Senate seat that failed gubernatorial candidate David Vitter will leave open next fall. Boustany, a Republican, represents Acadiana and Morgan City. He will formally announce his candidacy at an event in Lafayette at a later date.

Sixteen people were taken to New Orleans area hospitals with injuries after two groups opened fire on one another in in the turbulent Ninth Ward: A dispute between two groups of people in a New Orleans park Sunday escalated into a shooting that injured at least 16 people, police said late Sunday. The shooting took place at around 6 p.m. local time after approximately 500 people had gathered at Bunny Friend Playground in the city’s 9th Ward to film a music video, the New Orleans Police Department said in a statement. Ambulances took 10 victims to area hospitals, and police...

Saturday, Democrats elected their first governor in the Deep South in eight years, as Louisiana state legislator John Bel Edwards defeated GOP U.S. senator David Vitter. The Democrats' double-digit victory in Louisiana makes up for their losing the Kentucky governorship to Republicans three weeks ago. But Edwards's victory does little to change the unpopularity of Democrats in the South. Edwards worked hard to separate himself from the liberal wing of his party on social issues. He was unabashedly pro-gun and anti-abortion, and he emphasized that he's a graduate of West Point who had served in Iraq as an Army Ranger....

Governor-elect John Bel Edwards called expanding Medicaid "among the highest priorities" of his new administration, though he said Sunday (Nov. 22) he may not be able to approve an expanded program on Day One. Edwards has said for months that he would accept the expansion of Medicaid, which requires executive approval, in the early days of his administration. But he said new questions have been raised about a funding mechanism the Legislature finished building in the spring. There is "a difference of opinion" in interpretations of how the bill was drafted and passed, Edwards said. But he did not appear...

At least 16 people have been shot during the filming of a music video at the Bunny Friend Park in New Orleans, officials say. (more) The shooting happened just after 6 p.m. when about 500 people, including many children, were at the park as a music video was being filmed. Multiple victims were seen at the park’s main building as ambulances raced to the scene. Nearby streets have been closed by police.

11/22/2015-- 4:12 PM CDT Governor-elect John Bel Edwards has named Ben Nevers as his chief of staff. He announced this at a press conference Sunday afternoon. Edwards said that Nevers "has my complete confidence. I could not be happier with the decision that I have made and couldn't be more pleased that Senator Nevers agreed to do this." Ben Nevers has taken positions and supported legislation that has come under fire over the years. Years ago, we wrote about the ongoing controversy regarding man-made reservoirs in Louisiana. One of our concerns was with the Oak Grove community in Washington Parish,...

Democrat John Bel Edwards took a victory lap last night after winning Louisiana’s gubernatorial race by a wide margin. While things had looked pretty good for Republican Senator David Vitter a couple of months ago, in the end it really wasn’t even close. (New York Times) With a victory that defied political geography and near universal predictions from just months earlier, a previously little-known Democrat, State Representative John Bel Edwards, soundly defeated United States Senator David Vitter in a runoff election on Saturday to become the next governor of Louisiana.Mr. Edwards won 56 percent of the vote with virtually...

Fort Worth, TX – The Madison Project PAC, the first conservative PAC to endorse Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Matt Bevin (R-KY), announced today that it is supporting Colonel Rob Maness for U.S. Senate against Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) in Louisiana. "Rob Maness provides conservatives with a refreshing change from typical senatorial candidates,” said Drew Ryun of the Madison Project. “As a career Air Force officer who fought in combat for our country, constitutional principles are more than just a talking point. With a dearth of courage within the ranks of the Senate GOP Conference, Maness would bring his leadership...

Following his defeat to Democrat John Bel Edwards in Saturday's Louisiana gubernatorial election, GOP Sen. David Vitter announced that he will retire from the Senate next year, ensuring another busy year of campaigning in a state with no shortage of ambitious politicians. Vitter's exit will set up an open-seat race in 2016, and the Republican side of the field is chock-full of potential candidates: GOP Reps. Charles Boustany and John Fleming, state Treasurer John Kennedy, retired Air Force Col. Rob Maness and Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle could all make bids. The Democratic picture is less clear: New Orleans Mayor...

Democrat John Bel Edwards won the runoff election for Louisiana governor Saturday, defeating the once-heavy favorite, Republican David Vitter, and handing the Democrats their first statewide victory since 2008.Edwards, a state lawmaker, will take over the office from term-limited Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal in January.Voters' rejection of Vitter was a stunning turn of events for the U.S. senator, who has been a political powerhouse in the state for years and started his campaign nearly two years ago as the race's front-runner.

Republican David Vitter says he is not going to run again for the U.S. Senate after losing in an upset race for governor to Democrat John Bel Edwards. Vitter made the announcement during an appearance to campaign supporters in the New Orleans suburbs Saturday evening after it became apparent that he would not win the governor's race. Vitter, who has one year left in his second U.S. Senate term, told supporters that before entering the governor's race, he and his wife had decided that he would not seek another term in the Senate.

Early Results

New Orleans police released surveillance footage of Tulane University medical student Peter Gold being shot early Friday morning (Nov. 20) while trying to stop an apparent armed robbery at Magazine and St. Mary streets in the Lower Garden District.Gold, 25, stopped his car upon seeing a man dragging a woman toward an SUV in the 1000 block of Saint Mary Street, police said. When he tried to help, police said the gunman pointed a weapon at Gold and demanded his money. "The victim explained to the suspect, repeatedly, that he did not have any cash," NOPD said in a news...

Visiting refugee children at a shelter in Malaysia, President Obama said Saturday that America's leaders shouldn't fear young Syrians and others from war-torn nations seeking to emigrate to the U.S. "American leadership is us caring about people who have been forgotten, or who have been discriminated against, or who have been tortured," Mr. Obama told reporters at the refugee center in Kuala Lumpur. "That's American leadership. That's when we're the shining light on the hill. Not when we respond on the basis of fear." The president is embroiled in a long-distance battle with lawmakers in Washington, and with a majority...

Today, Louisianans are going to the polls to decide who will lead the state for the next four years. In what was arguably the state's most interesting primary elections since 1987, state Rep. John Bel Edwards and U.S. Sen. David Vitter ended up in the top two slots in the Oct. 24 primary election. Edwards finished in first place among the four gubernatorial candidates receiving votes in the double digits in that primary election, garnering 40 percent of the vote - almost double those of his nearest contender, U.S. Sen. David Vitter, who received 23 percent. Back in May a...

Folks in Louisiana, turnout today, Saturday, November 21, 2015, and vote for David Vitter to become the next Governor of Louisiana!!! Casting a vote for Obamabot, Democrat, John Bel Edwards is the same as casting a vote for failed...Hate America, POTUS Barack Hussein (Muslim Brotherhood Adoree) Obama. Edwards will just be another rubber stamp vote for the would be destroyer of the American Republic, Barack Hussein Obama. Today...as you vote, Obama is bad mouthing America & all Americans in Malaysia while having a ball....while ISIS murder & mayhem goes forward, unchecked!!! Please send Obama a clear message from the people...

According to the newest state-wide poll of Louisiana taken Thursday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) 71% has inched to within just 4 points of his Democrat opponent, John Bel Edwards. Earlier in the month, Edwards had been handily beating Vitter by as much as +22 points. Proving once again why early voting is an appallingly dumb idea, while the Syrian refugee debate appears to be helping Vitter gain ground (he leads on this issue 40% to 36%), according to the Huffington Post, more than a quarter of a million votes have already been cast in Louisiana. Like almost...