Louisiana House Minority Leader John Bel Edwards Saturday hung on to his weeks-long lead, despite a last minute attempt by Vitter to turn the wild campaign into a referendum on Syrian refugees β and on thin claims of danger from a "missing" refugee. Edwards, a Democrat, will succeed Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal, who leaves office in January following a failed presidential bid.
And Vitter will resign at the end of his Senate term, he said Saturday night. Elected to the House in to replace Rep. Things took a turn for Vitter just three years later, however, when a powerful madam in Washington, D.
For months Vitter could not be found on Capitol Hill, and on the rare occasions when reporters spotted him, he would ignore any and all questions. After his self-imposed exile, Vitter slowly began to reemerge into the public light, attending hearings, giving floor speeches and, ultimately, giving a press conference.
And while he was initially dogged by questions about his involvement with prostitutes, they quickly faded in the unyielding stonewall silence from Vitter. And Vitter survived again, overcoming a Democratic challenge in and providing a model for future lawmakers who would find themselves in similarly difficult situations.
But Republican observers say Vitter miscalculated not only his popularity with voters, but the political acumen of Edwards.
