Saturday's election sets up big runoffs in November

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - Saturday Night's election results ended some races, but also set up critical runoffs for next month.

The biggest race is for State Treasurer, between Republican John Schroder and Democrat Derrick Edwards.

Political Analyst Jim Engster says Schroder is the clear favorite heading into the November 18th race.

"He's the only Republican that survived and there were two other prominent Republicans in the race and it would seem that the votes that went to Angele Davis and Neil Reiser would most likely go to John Schroder in a runoff," Engster said.

On Sunday morning, former State Treasurer and current U.S. Senator John Kennedy endorsed Schroder for the race.

He released this statement:

With the state budget on a path to destruction, and a governor who thinks he can tax Louisiana into prosperity, we need a state treasurer who's not afraid to speak his mind.  I believe John Schroder will do that.  He wants to put our state on a better financial path for our kids and our grandkids.  I congratulate John on making the runoff.  He has my full support in the weeks ahead.

But the treasurer's race was not enough to attract voters. Saturday night had a turnout of less than fourteen percent statewide.

"The treasurer's race is not the sexiest item on the ballot, and people weren't all that enthused about it, but that said, two years ago we only voted at thirty eight percent for a governor's election with a lot of other items on the ballot," Engster said.

Baton Rouge voters will decide another runoff in November. Republicans Judy Moore Vendetto and Chris Hester will square off to decide who becomes the next East Baton Rouge Parish City Judge.

"Both ran vigorous campaigns," Engster said. "And Judith Moore Vindetto at the end capitalized on her very popular brother, the DA Hillar Moore supporting her, and the question now is Chris Hester, who barely made the runoff, by just seventy votes over Wendy Higginbotham Green, can make up enough ground to defeat Judith Moore Vindetto."

Republican Craig Greene, an orthopedic surgeon in Baton Rouge, won an open seat on the Public Service Commission outright, taking fifty five percent of the vote. Michael Gaudet won the district seven seat on the Parish School Board, with sixty one percent of the vote. Statewide, voters approved three constitutional amendments: property tax exemptions for construction sites, homestead exemptions for the widows of first responders, and a new restriction on future gasoline and fuel taxes.

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