Rep. John Bel Edwards (Source: Louisiana State Legislature)BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Democratic leader in the Louisiana House, Rep. John Bel Edwards, says he's running for governor in 2015.
Edwards, a lawyer from Tangipahoa Parish, becomes the first Democrat to say he'll be a candidate in the race. He announced his plans Wednesday on a Baton Rouge-based radio show hosted by Jim Engster.
Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, Edwards has been a lawmaker since 2008 and has become 1 of Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal's most vocal critics, on issues including the budget, taxes and education.
Jindal is unable to run for a third consecutive term.
Many Republicans have been mentioned as possible candidates, including U.S. Sen. David Vitter, Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, Treasurer John Kennedy, Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain and state Sen. Gerald Long.
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