BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — It was 2012 and Louisiana was spiraling toward a historic budget crisis, with public colleges bracing for another round of cuts that campus leaders said were chasing away students and shuttering programs.
John Bel Edwards, then-a rural state representative, had had enough. He turned to a fellow lawmaker and said, “I’m running for governor.”
The Democrat went on to shock the country, defying near-universal predictions and in the reliably red state twice.
Edwards, currently the lone Democratic governor in the Deep South, has reached his final two days in office after eight years. His tenure has been marked by successes — expanding Medicaid, joining climate change initiatives, climbing out of a budget deficit and investing in education — while navigating historical crises and facing challenges from a GOP-dominated legislature.
A decade ago, Edwards, a lawyer from a 4,000-person town in eastern Louisiana, had little name recognition as he campaigned for governor with a bare-bones team. Campaign strategists say a number of : A scandal-ridden Republican opponent, Edwards’ military background and religious conservatism that attracted GOP voters, and a strong Democratic turnout from Black voters.
Edwards’ first act as governor — which he has described as the “easiest big decision” he made in office — was to . More than 440,000 working poor and nonelderly adults enrolled within the first budget year, and Louisiana’s uninsured rate dropped from 22.7% to 9.4%.
Edwards entered office in crisis mode, inheriting a financial mess that included more than a . The state has vastly improved financially, with an estimated during last year’s legislative session.
Financial woes weren’t the only crisis : There were , the shooting of Alton Sterling — a Black man killed by police — that triggered unrest and an
During Edwards’ time in office there were around 50 state disaster declarations and 21 federal — from , , to COVID-19. The West Point graduate says his Army experience influenced the way he managed crises, utilizing timely and accurate information to formulate a strategy and employ tactics.
During the start of the pandemic, Edwards and Republicans — including — came together in a for people to do their part to avoid spreading the virus. It was a rare truce during a time of deep political divides nationwide.
Although a Democrat, Edwards' stances on and moderate pro-gun views appealed to some Republicans. Edwards said ahead of his reelection in 2019 former President Donald Trump urged the governor to switch parties.
Edwards remained a Democrat, and in return Trump traveled to Louisiana to rally against him.
Working across the aisle with a GOP supermajority also proved challenging and, at times, unsuccessful. Edwards wielded his veto powers — at one point . In a rarity, lawmakers overrode two of the governor’s vetoes — passing into law a for transgender minors and overturning that lacked a second majority-Black district.
Lawmakers also halted a slew of Edwards’ goals, including and .
Perhaps one of the biggest moments of scrutiny of Edwards came following the in 2019. The legislature put together a committee probing the death and to see if the governor was complicit in a cover-up of troopers. However, without issuing any finding or hearing from the governor, despite Edwards saying he was willing to testify.
Throughout his time in office, Edwards has maintained strong approval ratings among the public, continuously vowing to put people before politics.
In the Deep South state, which has had a front-row seat to the effects of climate change, Edwards put Louisiana on a path to .
While Louisiana has tens of thousands of jobs tied to the oil and gas industry, efforts to have come to the forefront during Edwards’ administration.
Unable to run for reelection because of consecutive term limits, Edwards leaves office Monday and will where he will focus on bringing renewable energy deals to the state.
Edwards says he has “no intention” to run for political office in the future, but he hasn’t outright ruled it out. For now, the governor said he is optimistic about Louisiana’s future and ready to go home.
