Republican Jeff Landry this week won the election to become Louisiana’s next governor, beating a crowded field of candidates from both parties.
Landry won 51.6 percent of the vote, which was enough to defeat the other candidates in Louisiana’s “jungle” primary format, where all candidates from all parties run against one another for the position. A candidate must clear 50 percent of the votes in order to win the election and avoid a runoff, which would have been held on Election Day in November.
The win ends eight years of Democrat control of the governor’s mansion in the state, with incumbent John Bel Edwards term-limited at the end of the year.
Landry, who is currently serving as Louisiana’s attorney general since 2016, has previously served as U.S. representative for Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional district from 2011 to 2013. A graduate of University of Louisiana Lafayette and Loyola University law school, Landry served in the U.S. Army from 1987 to 1998 in Operation Desert Storm before being discharged at the rank of sergeant. After his time in the Army, Landry served as a sheriff’s deputy, attorney, small business owner, and state senator before his election to the House of Representatives.
Landry’s win gives Republicans the 23rd state where the party controls the legislature and governor’s office. Democrats control 17 such states, leaving only 10 states with divided government.
