Thoughts on the Election

Statewide, it was a good day for incumbents. No one doubted the outcome of the Governor’s race, and Bobby Jindal carried 65.82% of the vote.
Jay Dardenne had a sound win over Billy Nungesser, winning 53.13% of the vote to Nungesser’s 46.87%.
Secretary of State Tom Schedler had a closer encounter, winning 50.48% of the vote to Jim Tucker’s 49.52%. (Senator David Vitter had supported both Nungesser and Jim Tucker, in what some saw as a power move in the state Republican Party. He lost)
Commissioner of Agriculture Mike Strain and Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon were both back in with substantial leads.
In our Bossier Races, Julian Whittington was elected sheriff with 68% of the vote. Assessor Bobby Edmiston won 73% for a landslide victory.
When campaigns go negative, regardless of who you think started it, someone is going to pay. In yesterday’s elections, it was Duke Lowrie and Jane Smith who paid the price. In the Lowrie-Thompson race, the negativity came from both sides.
In the Peacock-Smith race for Senate District 37, most of the negativity came from Smith. This might have contributed to her carrying only 52% of the Bossier vote. Smith accused Peacock of being ‘soft’ on abortion, and when Peacock questioned her voting record she acted as if she was being personally attacked. This apparently didn’t set well with voters on either side of the river. I wasn’t surprised at Peacock’s win, but was slightly surprised at the margin – 55% to 45% district-wide.
Caddo Races
Not surprisingly, Sheriff Steve Prator won re-election with 78% of the vote. Assessor Charles Hennington beat back a challenge by Tea Party favorite Royal Alexander, winning 65% to 35%. I think voters in both parishes realize that they have voted for the taxes they pay, and that the assessor’s job is to properly assess property in the parish, not to attempt to lower taxes by lowering assessments.
Incumbent State Senator Sherri Smith Cheek won re-election handily over challenger Troy Terrell with 55% of the vote.
In Senate District 39, incumbent Lydia Jackson is headed into a runoff with Greg Tarver, who previously held the seat. Jackson got 9393 votes, Tarver 9015 while challenger Jim Slagle received 3,215 votes. It is hard to know which way the wind will blow in this one.
In the Representatives’ races, Alan Seabaugh won a whopping 80% of the vote to hold on to his District 5 seat. In District 7, Richie Burford won re-election with 68% over Cindy Williams.
In what I consider to be great news, 3rd District State Representative Barbara Norton will be in a runoff with Lynn Cawthorne in an effort to save her ass seat.

I will have a separate post on the Bossier Police Jury races, which were very interesting.