Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards gives his farewell address

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) —

On Wednesday, Gov.John Bel Edwards gave his final farewell address in his hometown of Amite. The two term Democrat signs off in less than a week as Jeff Landry is set to take office.

“That breeze of hope is still blowing, and I have faith that it will continue,” Edwards said.

Edwards was the longshot candidate eight years ago, starting as a relatively unknown state representative, he beat the odds in 2015 and squeaked through in 2019. He has remained the only Democrat governor in the deep south.

“Not many people believed I could win. But choosing this path was never about power. It was never about proving a point. It wasn’t about politics. It wasn’t even about me. It was about people,” Edwards said.

Addressing the crowd of his family, friends, and neighbors, he looked back on everything Louisiana had to overcome during his tenure. Some have even dubbed him the “crisis governor” after all the natural disasters, unrest, and the pandemic met him at the door.

“The sugar cane still grows. The Red River still flows. Tourists still flock to Mardi Gras. Those Tangipahoa strawberries are still the best in the world. The good times still roll,” Edwards said.

He didn’t shy from putting on display his accomplishments in office: from budget surpluses he put towards education and infrastructure, to criminal justice reform, to Medicaid expansion bringing healthcare to millions.

“I want you all to be proud of what we’ve accomplished for Louisiana together. All of it on a bipartisan basis,” Edwards said.

His wife and close colleagues sent him off with a kind word.

While the leadership in Louisiana is going to see a stark change, ushering in a much more conservative approach with a supermajority republican legislature and Jeff Landry at the helm – Edwards is optimistic for the future.

“We leave Louisiana much better than we found it eight years ago and stronger than ever. I leave the governor’s office as optimistic as I have ever been about our future,” Edwards said.

Edwards officially signs off the morning of Jan 8.

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