NEW ORLEANS – Rep. John Bel Edwards gave a commanding performance at last night’s gubernatorial debate, demonstrating his steadiness and seriousness of purpose while his Republican rivals were consumed in the trivial back-and-forth of intra-party mudslinging. Edwards championed substantive policy proposals and reaffirmed his commitment to putting Louisiana first and getting our state government back to basics. After seven years of failed Republican policies, Louisiana voters are ready to elect a governor who will put people ahead of politics and turn the page on Bobby Jindal and David Vitter’s partisan rancor.
None of the three Republican candidates offered anything new in the way of substantive leadership, or a meaningful change from the failures of the Bobby Jindal administration. John Bel Edwards was the only candidate who offered a clear plan to fix our budgetary nightmare, to restore funding to higher education, and to immediately expand access to affordable healthcare for working Louisianians. As successive polls continue to indicate, Louisiana voters are responding to the values and the leadership Edwards offers— and his debate performance tonight demonstrated why.
“John Bel Edwards walked off that stage as the clear winner,” said Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, chairwoman of the Louisiana Democratic Party. “While the GOP candidates were falling all over each other, pointing fingers and tearing each other down, John Bel was connecting with voters with his message and his vision for the future. He won the debate, and he’s going to win at the ballot box this fall.”
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