BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Republican Jay Dardenne, who ran unsuccessfully for governor, rebuffed GOP contender David Vitter in the runoff election Thursday and instead backed Democratic candidate John Bel Edwards.
Vitter has been trying to consolidate Republican support in a conservative state where no Democrats hold statewide office, but his blistering attacks against GOP opponents ahead of the October primary election have angered some among his own party.
"The Republican brand has been damaged by the failed leadership of Bobby Jindal during this last term. A David Vitter governorship will further damage that brand," Dardenne, Louisiana's lieutenant governor, said on LSU's campus, where he started his political career decades ago.
Edwards hopes Dardenne's endorsement will make Republican voters feel more comfortable with supporting a Democrat in the Nov. 21 runoff. It comes as polls show Edwards in the lead.
Dardenne described Edwards as an honorable man "who can build coalitions and whose values best reflect those of our great state."
"He knows that fear, intimidation and vindictiveness are the enemies of building a coalition to move Louisiana forward. He will govern in a bipartisan manner, based upon what's best for Louisiana, without regard to how it plays to a national audience," Dardenne said.
Vitter's campaign didn't immediately comment on the endorsement.
A long-time state elected official, Dardenne ran fourth in the primary, garnering 15 percent of the vote. He and third-place finisher Scott Angelle, a Republican who hasn't endorsed a runoff candidate, were repeatedly slammed by Vitter and a pro-Vitter super PAC ahead of the primary.
Vitter and the PAC — called The Fund for Louisiana's Future — suggested Dardenne wasted tax dollars in office, supported abortion rights and called Dardenne a "political insider who is failing Louisiana."
In response, Dardenne accused Vitter of using false, Washington-style attack ads and divisive campaign tactics. He described Vitter as ineffective and "vicious." He also called Vitter's 2007 prostitution scandal a humiliation for the state that would continue to cast a shadow on Louisiana if he were elected.
The endorsement could give Edwards a significant bump with Dardenne voters who were weighing whether they should follow party loyalties or maybe just stay home on Election Day. And Dardenne offered his support two days before early voting begins.
Since the primary, Vitter and other Republican Party leaders have sought to reassemble the splintered voting base among the GOP, describing the voters who chose Angelle and Dardenne as more ideologically similar to Vitter than to Edwards. Vitter tried to tie Edwards to President Barack Obama, who is unpopular in Louisiana.
Edwards has positioned himself as a moderate Democrat of the type that once was regularly elected to statewide office in Louisiana. He highlights his pro-gun, anti-abortion stances, his military background and his West Point degree.
Louisiana hasn't elected a Democrat to a statewide office since 2008.