Gov. Edwards, GOP challenger Abraham debate health care, taxes, more at policy-focused forum

Gov. John Bel Edwards faced one of his Republican gubernatorial challengers for the first time Thursday, squaring off with Congressman Ralph Abraham in a policy-focused forum that touched on health care, infrastructure and taxes.

Edwards, who is running for reelection as the only incumbent Democratic governor in the Deep South, painted the state in a better light than when he took office, contrasting a roughly $300 million budget surplus from the previous fiscal year with the $2 billion deficit he inherited when taking office.

The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, a nonpartisan think tank based in Baton Rouge, hosted the forum as part of its annual event. Edwards also addressed a luncheon crowd, where he touted his push for a pay raise for school teachers, before facing Abraham in the first in-person meeting between the two on the campaign trail.

Abraham, R-Alto, attacked the governor’s policies on taxes, Medicaid expansion and business friendliness. He toed the party line on mainstream GOP issues like tort reform and lowering corporate taxes, and repeatedly brought up Louisiana’s poor rankings in national lists for things like health care outcomes and education.

Read more: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/elections/article_e8591046-5bcb-11e9-bc37-1f0d7a68abf9.html
(Baton Rouge Advocate)