Mr. 38 Percent

After everything that's happened, John Bel might still blow this.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards is leading his Republican gubernatorial challengers by several points in a new poll, but is still well short of the 50% needed to win re-election.

The survey, conducted by Baton Rouge-based JMC Analytics and Polling and released at a recent Louisiana Chemical Association annual event, puts Edwards at 38% in his bid for re-election as the only Democratic governor in the Deep South. Congressman Ralph Abraham polled second, at 23%, while Baton Rouge businessman Eddie Rispone is in single digits at 7% and 32% are undecided.

After JMC factors in its undecided modeling, that gets him up around 45%. Still not over the top.  As Governor John Bel has been a staunch ally to the oil and gas industry, has balanced the state budget on the backs of poor and working people through regressive taxation while handing out millions of dollars in free money to large corporations.   It's strange that Republicans would even bother to run anyone against him in the first place. What more could they get out of that that they don't already have?