BATON ROUGE, La.—Louisiana’s newest governor John Bel Edwards takes his oath of office Monday, becoming the state’s 56th chief executive and the only Democratic governor in the Deep South after an improbable election victory.
Edwards follows term-limited Republican Bobby Jindal into office, inheriting a budget mess that will require the Democratic leader to work with a majority GOP Legislature.
The new governor is expected to call for bipartisanship and cooperation in his speech at the inaugural ceremony, to be held on the steps of the Louisiana Capitol.
Six other statewide elected officials also will be sworn into office Monday with Edwards.
Four are returning for another term: Secretary of State Tom Schedler, Treasurer John Kennedy, Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain and Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon.
Two are newly-selected: Former Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser will take office as lieutenant governor, and former congressman Jeff Landry as attorney general.
The 144-member Louisiana Legislature also will be seated earlier in the day.
Edwards, a West Point graduate and former Army Ranger, is the first Democrat to win a statewide elected office in Louisiana since 2008, after defeating one-time powerhouse U.S. Sen. David Vitter, a Republican who entered the race as the front-runner.
A little-known member of the state House from rural Tangipahoa Parish, Edwards’ chance of a win was deemed slim when he announced his campaign plans more than two years ago, not with a formal kick-off event but in response to a question on a radio talk show.
He built a campaign operation that mainly relied on family and close friends, as political prognosticators and those within his own party initially gave him little chance of success.
