In what may hopefully be a sign of things to come, Louisiana voters went to the polls this weekend and replaced Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards with Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry. (Edwards was term-limited.) Landry’s campaign message had been simple. The people of Louisiana deserve to expect better from their elected officials and he has been offering a plan to make that happen. For the first time in more than a decade, Landry won the race with a clear majority of the votes, avoiding the state’s easily manipulated “jungle primary” system which would have kicked in if he had only won with a plurality. The state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans in particular have been in decline recently, like many of America’s large urban centers. Now Landry will have to figure out how to turn that around. (Associated Press)

Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican backed by former President Donald Trump, has won the Louisiana governor’s race, holding off a crowded field of candidates.

The win is a major victory for the GOP as they reclaim the governor’s mansion for the first time in eight years. Landry will replace current Gov. John Bel Edwards, who was unable to seek reelection due to consecutive term limits. Edwards is the only Democratic governor in the Deep South.

“Today’s election says that our state is united,” Landry said during his victory speech Saturday night. “It’s a wake up call and it’s a message that everyone should hear loud and clear, that we the people in this state are going to expect more out of our government from here on out.”

Louisiana definitely needed a change. Under John Bel Edwards, New Orleans became the most violent city in the world, with the highest per capita murder rate in the country. That includes the highest number of women being murdered in America, despite the city having a far smaller population than Chicago, Baltimore, or San Francisco. (New Orleans ranks 53 in the country by population.) Tourism in Louisiana is down dramatically.

Jeff Landry definitely had the right resume for these times. He has served as both a police officer and a Sheriff’s Deputy. He’s a veteran of the Army National Guard and served a stint in Congress prior to becoming the Attorney General. The main focus of his campaign was getting the crime rate under control. It was obviously a message that resonated, allowing him to finally push Louisiana firmly back into the red category after more than a decade of disastrous Democratic governance. (Trump still managed to carry Louisiana with nearly 60% of the vote in 2020.)

Landry has already made headlines by battling with Edwards and pushing conservative policies that wound up being supported by the voters and the legislature. He managed to ban transgender medical “treatments” for children and passed a near-total abortion ban. He has fought to remove pornography from public school libraries and supports the death penalty. His message to the criminals currently plaguing the state boils down to FAFO.

Jeff Landry also supports American energy independence and opposes bans on oil and gas drilling. He has promised not to make COVID vaccines mandatory and will not impose mask mandates or shut down the schools. In many ways, he’s been operating a campaign that would match most GOP presidential platforms, and I won’t be surprised if he begins eyeing a run for the White House at some point down the line.

But before he can think about that, he’s got a massive job in front of him once he takes office. Democrats still control significant parts of the state and they will oppose his reforms every step of the way. Bringing down the crime rates in Louisiana’s cities is a task that’s easier said than done, so he will need to find the funds to significantly expand the state’s law enforcement resources and start filling up the jails to show the criminals that he’s serious. But Louisiana needs a man like Landry now more than ever. I wish him the best of luck in his efforts.