BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s rally in Louisiana (all times local):
9:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump is talking optimistically about the 2020 elections, despite the warning signs for Republicans that came out of Kentucky, Virginia and elsewhere Tuesday.
Trump is campaigning in Monroe, Louisiana, for a GOP gubernatorial candidate.
He is attacking House Democrats for their impeachment inquiry, saying their “shameful conduct has created an angry majority.”
Trump says Republicans are “going to take back the House” and says the party will focus on House Democrats who represent districts Trump won in 2016.
Trump points out that he didn’t run in 2018 and notes that while he urged people to go out and vote, “a lot of people said, ‘I’m not going to vote until Trump runs.’”
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8:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump is turning his attention to the last gubernatorial contest of the year, bidding to drive out Louisiana’s Democratic governor in a show of political influence ahead of the 2020 elections.
The president has arrived in the northeastern Louisiana city of Monroe hoping to muster votes for Republican businessman Eddie Rispone and keep Democrat John Bel Edwards from a second term. Early voting ends Saturday in the Nov. 16 election.
An endorsement video circulated by the state GOP shows Trump describing Rispone as “a fantastic man, a great success. Everything he’s touched has turned to gold.” The president, who also plans a Nov. 14 rally in Bossier City for Rispone, calls Edwards “a disaster.”
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11:25 a.m.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards says voters shouldn’t cast ballots in the governor’s race based on Washington politics or President Donald Trump’s rallies.
The Deep South’s only Democratic governor met with campaign volunteers Wednesday in Monroe, ahead of Trump’s visit to urge support for Edwards’ Republican opponent Eddie Rispone.
Edwards continued to downplay any differences with the president.
He says he has a good working relationship with Trump and blamed the president’s critical tweets on “bad information” Trump is receiving from Rispone and his GOP supporters.
Thousands were expected at Trump’s Wednesday night rally. The get-out-the-vote event falls during Louisiana’s early voting period, which continues through Saturday.
Election Day is Saturday.
Rispone has hitched his candidacy to Trump. Edwards is focusing on state-specific issues in his bid for a second term.
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5 a.m.
President Donald Trump is turning his attention to the nation’s last gubernatorial race of 2019, seeking to drive Louisiana’s Democratic governor from office.
The president is traveling Wednesday night to the northeastern Louisiana city of Monroe. There, he’ll rally supporters to cast their ballots for Republican businessman Eddie Rispone, bidding to keep Democratic incumbent John Bel Edwards from a second term.
Early voting ends Saturday in the Nov. 16 election.
An endorsement video circulated by the state GOP shows Trump describing Rispone as “a fantastic man” and Edwards as “a disaster.”
Edwards downplays Trump’s efforts as Washington-style partisanship.
Republicans want to reclaim the governorship in a Deep South state where they believe Edwards’ 2015 victory was a fluke. Democrats believe securing an Edwards win could demonstrate competitiveness in the region.
