Trump cuts ad for GOP candidate in Louisiana governor’s race

President Trump cut an ad for Louisiana gubernatorial candidate Eddie Rispone as Republicans seek to gin up support for their candidate with early voting underway starting Saturday.

“Louisiana, you’ve got to get out and vote for Eddie Rispone on Nov. 16. He is a fantastic man, a great success. Everything he’s touched has turned to gold, and now he wants to help your state,” Trump said in the ad released on the event of early voting.

{mosads}“Your current governor, John Bel Edwards, is a disaster. Eddie Rispone will protect your Second Amendment. John Bel Edwards will not,” he added. “So get out, vote Eddie Rispone on Nov. 16. He will be a great Republican governor, and I look forward to working with him. He has my absolute, total endorsement.” 

The GOP candidate is facing off against Edwards, the only Democratic governor in the Deep South, in the runoff this month after no candidate garnered more than 50 percent support in the all-party primary election in October.

Rispone and Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-La.) split the Republican vote with 27.3 percent and 24.2 percent, respectively.

While no sitting Louisiana governor has ever won reelection after being forced into a runoff, polling has shown Edwards is in a strong position. A Mason-Dixon poll conducted before the primary found Edwards leading Rispone by 51 percent to 42 percent, though that margin will likely narrow as Abraham voters coalesce behind their party’s nominee.  

Trump has embraced the role of cheerleader for Rispone and will hold a rally for him next week as he flexes his political muscle in the race.

The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, rates the gubernatorial contest as a “toss-up.”