A group backed by President Barack Obama and led by former attorney general Eric Holder sent $300,000 to Louisiana Democrats in the closing days of the governor’s race, filings show.
The outside money flowed into the state as polls show the race between Gov. John Bel Edwards and Republican challenger Eddie Rispone at a dead heat. The National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), an Obama and Holder outfit that focuses on “Republican gerrymandering” around the country, added Louisiana to its “2019-2020 targets,” citing Bel Edwards’s ability to “veto a gerrymandered map” offered by the Republican-controlled legislature.
The group has quietly sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democrats ahead of the runoff election. The NDRC’s PAC sent $100,000 each to the State Democratic Campaign Committee of Louisiana, Louisiana Democrats, and the House Democratic Campaign Committee of Louisiana in late October, state filings show. Holder’s group now ranks among the largest spenders in the state since the October 12 primary.
The NDRC did not respond to requests for comment on its Louisiana efforts. Neither the state Democratic Party nor the Bel Edwards campaign returned requests for comment. – READ MORE