Republican Mike Foster won the race for Louisiana governor Saturday, easily defeating the man trying to be the first black elected to the office.
With 99 percent of the vote reported, Foster had 64 percent of the vote or 972,882. Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields had 36 percent or 554,993."With this kind of mandate, I'm going to try to do it - a referendum on whether we will keep gambling, a constitutional amendment to give the voters the right to place issues on the ballot, do the budget better and dedicate funds to higher education," Foster, a state senator, said in Lafayette after his victory.
Fields said he talked with Foster, commending him on running a good race.
"We're going to have a very good relationship as he serves as our governor and I serve as a member of Congress," he said.
He added that at 32, he has time to eventually get to the governor's office. "One day things will work out," he told supporters in Baton Rouge.
Nearly 4 percent of the state's 2.3 million registered voters cast their ballots before Saturday, setting a record for absentee voting. The election coincided with the start of deer season and the second zone of duck season.
Political analysts all along said Fields had little chance of succeeding Gov. Edwin Edwards, mainly because of his liberal Democratic voting record. Fields is for gun control, affirmative action, government set aside contracts for minorities, and opposed to the death penalty.