Governor Edwards’ campaign is hoping to court Ralph Abraham voters with a new ad highlighting Eddie Rispone’s attacks against the Congressman during the primary.
Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says Edwards hopes the ad will pick off disillusioned conservatives who voted for Abraham but can’t stomach Rispone.
“This is something that Edwards has to do,” says Pinsonat. “If he cannot attract more white voters, more than he did in the primary then he literally has no chance, and no path to victory.”
If the voting population remains the same in the run-off that it was in the primary, Edwards would need to attract about 11 percent of Abraham voters to win.
The ad is premised on the idea that there are some GOP voters who would consider voting for a Democrat. Pinsonat says those voters are rare and getting rarer in Louisiana.
“It’s very difficult for a Democrat to pull whites away from Republican candidates,” says Pinsonat. “In the south, they’re all red states now, and John Bel Edwards is not running against David Vitter.”
The three Republicans in the primary combined to win 52 percent of the vote.
Pinsonat is doubtful that the ad will be successful. He says the message is undercut by the fact that Abraham already seems to have publicly embraced Rispone.
“I’m not so sure that it will work. Number one, Ralph has already endorsed Eddie, and number two, I’m not positive but I’m pretty sure you will see Ralph in an ad endorsing Eddie.”
The run-off is November 16th.
