Outside the Beltway

Former Governor, And Prison Convict, Edwin Edwards To Run For Congress

Doug Mataconis · Monday, March 17, 2014 · 3 comments

Edwin Edwards, who served four terms as Louisiana’s Governor before being sent to prison on corruption charges, is running for Congress:

Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards officially announced he is running for Congress on Monday, hoping to recharge a political career after serving nearly a decade in prison on federal corruption charges.

Edwards announced his bid Monday at a weekly meeting of the Baton Rouge Press Club, ending months of speculation as to whether the 86-year-old former governor, convict and reality star would run for the vacant Baton Rouge-area seat.

“I’ve given a great deal of thought to do this, I’ve read articles from pundits … and I acknowledge there are good reasons why I should not run,” Edwards said. “But there are better reasons why I should, and good reasons should give way to better reasons. Therefore I will be a candidate for Congress from the 6th Congressional District this year.”

(…)

Edwards was convicted in 2000 of extorting businesses applying for casino licenses. A polltaken after his release in 2011 found him the second-most popular governor in the state since 1980, with 30 percent saying he was the best governor in that time, 5 points behind incumbent Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Edwards was a Member of Congress before becoming Governor so this would be a return to Washington for him. Could he win? With numbers like those he had in 2011, anything seems possible.