Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (Credit: AP/Gerald Herbert) Louisiana’s next gubernatorial race, which occurs in October 2019, has already stacked a full line of worthy Republican contenders that could potentially unseat John Bel Edwards, the state’s first-term incumbent and the lone Democratic governor in the Deep South. U.S. lawmakers, local lawmakers, statewide elected judicial leaders and business lobbyists are just some of the names that have, for a while, been on the Louisiana electorate’s mind for their next governor.