Today is the 30th anniversary of the historic 1987 gubernatorial election where Democrat Buddy Roemer was elected governor when fellow Democrat Edwin Edwards conceded after finishing second in the primary. Roemer received 34-percent of the vote in the primary and Edwards garnered 28-percent. Roemer says his main goal before the election was just to beat Edwards.
Other candidates in the 1987 race for Louisiana Governor were, U.S. Representatives Robert Livingston Jr. and Billy Tauzin along with Secretary of State Jim Brown. Roemer says he never thought Edwards would pull out of the runoff.
Early in the morning on the day after the election, Edwards, who in his political career had never lost an election, came down from his hotel room at the New Orleans Monteleone to announce he was dropping out of the runoff.
Supporters were heard shouting “NO” as Edwards made the announcement. Edwards told them he needed to do what was best for the state of Louisiana. He says one of the reasons he conceded is because he felt the media was against him.