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Eddie Rispone

Edward Lee "Eddie" Rispone (born 21 January 1949) was a Baton Rouge businessman who unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Louisiana in 2019 as the Republican nominee.

Biography[]

Edward Lee Rispone was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on 21 January 1949, and he founded Industrial Specialty Contractors in the 1980s. He became involved in Republican politics, leading a failed effort to incorporate the St. George community in East Baton Rouge Parish in 2014. In 2019, he ran against Democratic incumbent John Bel Edwards for Governor of Louisiana, and he attacked Republican primary rival Ralph Abraham for his congressional disloyalty towards Donald Trump. In the first round of the election on 12 October 2019, Rispone placed in second with 27.4% to Edwards' 46.6%, qualifying to run in the runoff election on 16 November 2019. He narrowly lost the election with 48.66% of the vote to Edwards' 51.34%, and the Republicans also fell short of winning a supermajority in the State House, another defeat for Trump.

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