Governor's mansion in Baton Rouge
The GOP side of the governor’s race is starting to heat up with Eddie Rispone beginning a substantial statewide ad blast and Congressman Abraham securing a major endorsement.
Abraham may be behind his fellow Republican in funding, but he continues to snag party endorsements, this time from a Legislative heavyweight, House Republican Chairman Lance Harris.
“Just so happens that I know Ralph better, he’s my Congressman, and I’ve had a lot of interactions with him, and his philosophy fits closer to mine when I visit with him.” Harris says he’s seeing a lot of support for Abraham in his Alexandria based district but adds if it’s Eddie Rispone who makes the run-off he’ll “be on his train also.”
One of the interactions that left a lasting impression on the Alexandria Republican came after Harris’ attempt in the last session to roll back a 2018 sales tax failed. It was opposed by the Governor and couldn’t clear the Senate, and afterward, Harris got a call from the Congressman who vowed if elected he would get the repeal over the finish line.
“When you end up with a surplus three years in a row, his (Abraham’s) philosophy says give it back to the taxpayers who pay it.”
Rispone campaign communications director Anthony Ramirez says his candidate backs a repeal as well. “As Governor, Eddie would make it a priority to not only repeal Governor Edwards’ $5 billion “temporary” sales tax but also fix our broken tax system in order to make Louisiana competitive with neighboring states and create jobs for our citizens.”
The Congressman may be scoring GOP endorsements, but Rispone’s camp is beginning to utilize their significant financial advantage by putting the candidate’s face on TVs across the state. Ramirez says expect to see and hear Rispone’s message on everything from nightly news to Monday Night Football.
“This broadcast is substantial. Five million dollars with the opportunity to add more to it on a week to week basis as strategy dictates. We will be able to tell our story to every corner of Louisiana.”
The Baton Rouge businessman may be trailing Abraham in name recognition, but his camp is planning to use that five million dollar ad buy to send a clear message to a lynchpin GOP constituency.
“Eddie Rispone is the only pro-Trump, conservative, outsider in this race. Eddie has a great background and biography that we believe appeals to the Louisiana conservative electorate.”
The primary will be held on October 12th, and if no candidate cracks 50 percent of the vote, a run-off will be held on November 16th.
