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Edwin Edwards Draws Spotlight with Congressional Campaign Announcement

Edwin Edwards is swarmed by reporters after announcing his run for Congress in the 6th District at the Baton Rouge Press Club, March 17, 2014.
Amy Jeffries
/
WRKF

86-year-old Edwin Edwards spent 7 years in Congress, 16 years as Louisiana’s governor, and then 8 years in prison for racketeering. And wherever he goes in the state, he draws a crowd, as he did Monday when he announced his run for Congress in the 6th District.

“Haven’t had this much attention since the trial," Edwards said as he took the podium at the Baton Rouge Press Club. "Now, as then, I expect to go away after this … to Washington, DC.”

Edwards, a Democrat, confirmed rumors that he is running for Congress in the 6th District. He joins a slew of Republicans including -- former Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority chief Garrett Graves and state Sen. Dan Claitor -- who have previously declared their candidacy.

If he is returned to Congress, Edwards said he would try to override Gov. Bobby Jindal’s rejection of Medicaid expansion in Louisiana under Obamacare and make way for the KeyStone XL pipeline.

Some pundits have speculated that Edwards is just jumping in to get the vote out for fellow Democrat, Sen. Mary Landrieu. She is in a tough reelection fight against several Republican opponents, including Bill Cassidy who is vacating the 6th District seat.

To that Edwards simply said, “She’s running her race and I’m running mine.”