A recall petition to remove Governor John Bel Edwards has been filed by two Eunice men.
The two have 180 days to collect about 600,000 signatures needed to trigger the recall vote. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says it is a puzzling move, considering that Edwrds, a West Point graduate, is in his element right now.
“He excels at managing crisis and the public likes his approach, likes how he handles natural disasters, and they reward him with really high performance ratings,” says Pinsonat.
An April poll of Edwards’ job performance put him at 66 percent approval and only 18 percent disapproval. A July poll showed 61 percent support for the state’s public health emergency actions.
Pinsonat says recalling a governor is a mammoth task made all the more unlikely by the current pandemic conditions.
“You need literally thousands of feet on the ground, you need energy from volunteers, who want to get rid of the governor,. You need hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars,” says Pinsonat.
Only one U.S. Governor has ever successfully been recalled. That was the 2003 California gubernatorial recall that led to the election of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
If 20 percent of registered voters sign the recall petition, an election would be held to potentially replace Edwards. Pinsonat says there’s no way that happens.
“It doesn’t make any sense, because there is no cry from anyone of any significant numbers who want to get rid of the governor,” says Pinsonat.
Lee Joseph Vidrine and Michael Lyn Vidrine are listed on the petition. No contact information for the two was provided and attempts to contact the two have not been successful.