October 24 and November 21, 2015 2019 → 56.1% 43.9% | 646,924 505,940 | |
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The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 2015 was conducted to choose a new Governor of Louisiana. Incumbent Republican Governor Bobby Jindal was not eligible to run for re-election to a third term because of term limits established by the Louisiana Constitution.
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Under Louisiana's jungle primary system, all candidates appeared on the same ballot, regardless of party and voters may vote for any candidate, regardless of their party affiliation. As no candidate received a majority of the vote during the primary election on October 24, 2015, a runoff election was held on November 21, 2015 between the top two candidates in the primary. Louisiana is the only state that has a jungle primary system (California and Washington have a similar "top two primary" system).
The runoff election featured Democratic Minority Leader of the Louisiana House of Representatives John Bel Edwards and Republican Senator David Vitter, as they were the top two vote getters in the primary. Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne and Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle were eliminated in the jungle primary.
In the runoff, which was held November 21, 2015, Edwards defeated Vitter by a count of 56.1% to 43.9%. Edwards became the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Louisiana since 2008, when Mary Landrieu won her third term in the United States Senate. The election was one of the most expensive in history, with over $50 million spent by candidates and outside groups.
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On November 5, 2015, Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne, who finished fourth in the primary election, endorsed Democrat Edwards in the upcoming general election against his intraparty rival, Senator David Vitter. Dardenne made the announcement at "Free Speech Alley" in front of the LSU Student Union building in Baton Rouge. After the primary, polls showed Edwards with a commanding lead over Vitter. Verne Kennedy of Market Research Insight placed Edwards ahead, 54 to 38 percent or 51 to 40 percent, depending on the level of turnout among African-American voters, either 25 or 20 percent, accordingly.
Dardenne's backing of Edwards drew fire from state Republican chairman Roger Villere and Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, who termed the endorsement a betrayal: "You cannot claim to be a conservative fighter for Louisiana principles and publicly endorse an Obama liberal like Mr. Edwards," the two chairmen wrote. Vitter, who had sought Dardenne's endorsement, said he remains "very excited about our campaign and the tens of thousands of conservative Louisiana voters who have jumped on board in the past week, including so many that voted for Jay. We wish Jay and his family the best."
Third-place contender Scott Angelle never spoke about any role that he would play in the general election, prior to the election.
A debate between Edwards and Vitter was held on November 10 by Louisiana Public Broadcasting and the Council for a Better Louisiana.
Early voting was possible from November 7 until November 14. Despite having one fewer day due to Veterans Day, turnout was significantly higher compared to the primary election early voting, especially among black voters and in urban parishes.
Polling
*Internal poll for the John Bel Edwards campaign
Edwards' win was the first statewide win for Democrats in Louisiana since Mary Landrieu won a third term to the senate in 2008. His performance was surprisingly well for being a Democrat in Louisiana. He especially performed well in Caddo Parish home of Shreveport, East Baton Rouge Parish home of Baton Rouge, and in the reliably Democratic Orleans Parish home of New Orleans. Turnout was slightly higher in the November run-off than in the October jungle primary.