President Donald Trump announced in a tweet Sunday that he'll visit Louisiana this week to rally Republicans ahead of the governor's election on Oct. 12.
Trump said he'll be in Louisiana on Friday night for "a big Republican Rally," the night before voters cast ballots on Saturday for incumbent Governor John Bel Edwards, or challengers Eddie Rispone or congressman Ralph Abraham.
Trump's visit to Lake Charles comes on the heels of Vice President Mike Pence's Saturday appearance at a Louisiana GOP rally in Kenner's Pontchartrain Center. An estimated 300 people attended that event.
Pence did not endorse a specific gubernatorial candidate but encouraged people to vote for either businessman Rispone or representative Abraham.
U.S. Senator John Kennedy said he was "thrilled that he (Trump)is coming back to Louisiana."
Republicans hope to keep Edwards from receiving more than 50 percent of the vote on Oct. 12, which would force a runoff between him and the second-most vote-getter.
After Pence's speech Saturday, the Louisiana Democratic Party said his visit won’t have any effect on the primary.
“Vice President Pence’s visit doesn’t change how excited Louisianans are to vote for gov. Edwards. In fact, his visit was hardly about Louisiana at all,” said Executive Director, Stephen Handwerk. “Most of his time was spent talking about politicians in Washington D.S., not the people of Louisiana.”
Trump said more information about his visit will be released soon.