After strong win, Democratic governor-elect of Louisiana begins work on transition

Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS

Fresh off a strong victory in the Louisiana governor’s race, Democrat John Bel Edwards began to work Sunday on his plans for the transition into his new office and an upcoming term in which he’ll have to grapple with a hefty state financial crisis.

After a brutal, attack-heavy competition to win the office, Edwards will get little in the way of a honeymoon as he readies to follow term-limited Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal into office.

He’ll be expected to enter the governor’s mansion in mid-January with a roadmap for closing a looming $1 billion budget shortfall and correcting widespread financial woes, while working with a Republican-led Legislature that may not see eye-to-eye with his politics.

The governor-elect announced his transition leaders and his pick for chief of staff the day after a decisive, 12 percentage-point win over Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter. The one-time favorite for the job, Vitter saw his campaign collapse in an embarrassing rebuke when the race became a referendum on his character, including a years-old prostitution scandal.

Edwards repeated his campaign pledge to govern with a moderate and bipartisan approach.