With the Louisiana governor’s race runoff keying the climax of the 2019 election cycle tonight, we’ll have updates with bits of information from around the state as to turnout in the major races until everything is decided.

Starting with the closing of the polls at 8 p.m. central time.

8 p.m. – There’s one final poll of the race, and this one is from the Trafalgar Group, which was the closest pollster to hitting the actual result in the primary.

And Trafalgar’s result is similar to the one JMC Analytics found on Thursday…

Louisiana Governor Runoff:
Rispone (R) 51% (+2)
Edwards (D-inc) 49%@trafalgar_group 11/13-15https://t.co/nGG1Ttvqug #LAgov

— Political Polls (@Politics_Polls) November 17, 2019

Those numbers somewhat jibe with a few things we’ve heard about turnout today – for example, that it was very heavy in Livingston, St. Tammany, Calcasieu, Acadia and Lafourche Parishes, all of which are expected to go for Rispone, and not quite at the point John Bel Edwards needed in East Baton Rouge, Caddo and a few others. But Orleans Parish turnout has been heavy.

And there have been rumblings that Democrats are preparing to cry foul, for a number of reasons.

First, there is the fact that Kyle Ardoin, Louisiana’s Secretary of State who’s up for re-election tonight, showed up at President Trump’s rally in Bossier City Thursday. How that’s a particular problem is beyond us – Ardoin was there to collect an endorsement and didn’t speak at the rally, so it can’t be said that he was campaigning for any other candidates in this cycle.

Second, supposedly the RGA rented out every bus in the state and interfered with the Democrats’ plans for vote-hauling. We don’t have confirmation of this, but we’ve heard it in multiple places today.

Third, when the NAACP then tried to do a deal with Uber to provide free rides to the polls, the LAGOP jumped on their web inforgraphic and shared it to their supporters, which further interfered with the vote-haul.

Fourth, the NAACP tried to insert poll-watchers without credentials into some precincts in Orleans Parish and were rejected. There is nothing particularly shady about that rejection – lists of poll-watchers are supposed to be turned in a week in advance, and if you’re not on the list, tough.

There is apparently a narrative about electoral irregularities being built and the Democrats are said to be lawyering up to challenge tonight’s result. Whether that gets them anywhere is less important than that they’re doing it.

8:10 p.m. – Here are some exceptionally early statewide returns…

8:15 p.m. – Now with 33 parishes of 64 reporting their early votes…

8:20 p.m. – A little more. We’re going to check on what parishes these are in a minute, because this is a lot better number for Rispone on early voting than it’s supposed to be…

8:30 p.m. – Now 53 parishes have turned in early votes, and Rispone is still holding a substantial lead…

8:40 p.m. – Some early-voting parish numbers to pass along (sorry if the formatting isn’t great)…

Acadia Parish
Votes
1,376John Bel Edwards (DEM) 25%
4,179″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 75%
Total: 5,555
Allen Parish
Votes
528John Bel Edwards (DEM) 39%
823″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 61%
Total: 1,351
Ascension Parish
Votes
8,043John Bel Edwards (DEM) 47%
8,955″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 53%
Total: 16,998
Assumption Parish
Votes
1,594John Bel Edwards (DEM) 58%
1,174″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 42%
Total: 2,768
Avoyelles Parish
Votes
1,416John Bel Edwards (DEM) 41%
2,019″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 59%
Total: 3,435
Beauregard Parish
Votes
1,334John Bel Edwards (DEM) 33%
2,726″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 67%
Total: 4,060
Bienville Parish
Votes
915John Bel Edwards (DEM) 60%
609″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 40%
Total: 1,524
Bossier Parish
Not Reporting
Caddo Parish
Not Reporting
Calcasieu Parish
Votes
7,594John Bel Edwards (DEM) 48%
8,188″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 52%
Total: 15,782
Caldwell Parish
Votes
367John Bel Edwards (DEM) 24%
1,144″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 76%
Total: 1,511
Cameron Parish
Votes
245John Bel Edwards (DEM) 27%
658″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 73%
Total: 903
Catahoula Parish
Votes
469John Bel Edwards (DEM) 29%
1,150″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 71%
Total: 1,619
Claiborne Parish
Votes
1,330John Bel Edwards (DEM) 45%
1,626″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 55%
Total: 2,956
Concordia Parish
Votes
856John Bel Edwards (DEM) 38%
1,426″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 62%
Total: 2,282
De Soto Parish
Not Reporting
East Baton Rouge Parish
Not Reporting
East Carroll Parish
Votes
1,045John Bel Edwards (DEM) 70%
455″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 30%
Total: 1,500
East Feliciana Parish
Votes
2,000John Bel Edwards (DEM) 58%
1,466″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 42%
Total: 3,466
Evangeline Parish
Votes
1,678John Bel Edwards (DEM) 43%
2,198″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 57%
Total: 3,876
Franklin Parish
Not Reporting
Grant Parish
Votes
583John Bel Edwards (DEM) 33%
1,186″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 67%
Total: 1,769
Iberia Parish
Votes
2,939John Bel Edwards (DEM) 35%
5,540″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 65%
Total: 8,479
Iberville Parish
Votes
2,374John Bel Edwards (DEM) 64%
1,360″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 36%
Total: 3,734
Jackson Parish
Votes
829John Bel Edwards (DEM) 44%
1,057″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 56%
Total: 1,886
Jefferson Parish
Votes
19,141John Bel Edwards (DEM) 60%
12,992″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 40%
Total: 32,133
Jefferson Davis Parish
Votes
1,331John Bel Edwards (DEM) 33%
2,676″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 67%
Total: 4,007
Lafayette Parish
Votes
6,358John Bel Edwards (DEM) 37%
11,050″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 63%
Total: 17,408
Lafourche Parish
Votes
3,599John Bel Edwards (DEM) 33%
7,413″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 67%
Total: 11,012
Lasalle Parish
Votes
488John Bel Edwards (DEM) 18%
2,223″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 82%
Total: 2,711
Lincoln Parish
Votes
2,663John Bel Edwards (DEM) 52%
2,463″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 48%
Total: 5,126
Livingston Parish
Votes
4,251John Bel Edwards (DEM) 29%
10,483″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 71%
Total: 14,734
Madison Parish
Votes
1,188John Bel Edwards (DEM) 65%
636″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 35%
Total: 1,824
Morehouse Parish
Not Reporting
Natchitoches Parish
Votes
2,631John Bel Edwards (DEM) 57%
1,950″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 43%
Total: 4,581
Orleans Parish
Not Reporting
Ouachita Parish
Not Reporting
Plaquemines Parish
Votes
1,539John Bel Edwards (DEM) 43%
2,078″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 57%
Total: 3,617
Pointe Coupee Parish
Votes
2,214John Bel Edwards (DEM) 63%
1,299″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 37%
Total: 3,513
Rapides Parish
Not Reporting
Red River Parish
Votes
770John Bel Edwards (DEM) 56%
612″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 44%
Total: 1,382
Richland Parish
Votes
1,124John Bel Edwards (DEM) 40%
1,711″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 60%
Total: 2,835
Sabine Parish
Votes
425John Bel Edwards (DEM) 17%
2,071″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 83%
Total: 2,496
St. Bernard Parish
Votes
1,898John Bel Edwards (DEM) 54%
1,634″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 46%
Total: 3,532
St. Charles Parish
Votes
2,951John Bel Edwards (DEM) 51%
2,882″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 49%
Total: 5,833
St. Helena Parish
Votes
1,423John Bel Edwards (DEM) 77%
418″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 23%
Total: 1,841
St. James Parish
Votes
2,799John Bel Edwards (DEM) 70%
1,212″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 30%
Total: 4,011
St. John The Baptist Parish
Votes
4,402John Bel Edwards (DEM) 76%
1,390″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 24%
Total: 5,792
St. Landry Parish
Votes
4,140John Bel Edwards (DEM) 53%
3,661″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 47%
Total: 7,801
St. Martin Parish
Votes
2,558John Bel Edwards (DEM) 32%
5,388″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 68%
Total: 7,946
St. Mary Parish
Votes
2,420John Bel Edwards (DEM) 41%
3,548″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 59%
Total: 5,968
St. Tammany Parish
Votes
14,587John Bel Edwards (DEM) 41%
21,073″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 59%
Total: 35,660
Tangipahoa Parish
Votes
7,044John Bel Edwards (DEM) 55%
5,653″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 45%
Total: 12,697
Tensas Parish
Votes
593John Bel Edwards (DEM) 59%
414″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 41%
Total: 1,007
Terrebonne Parish
Votes
3,224John Bel Edwards (DEM) 32%
6,780″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 68%
Total: 10,004
Union Parish
Not Reporting
Vermilion Parish
Votes
1,213John Bel Edwards (DEM) 22%
4,269″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 78%
Total: 5,482
Vernon Parish
Votes
1,106John Bel Edwards (DEM) 28%
2,809″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 72%
Total: 3,915
Washington Parish
Votes
2,204John Bel Edwards (DEM) 48%
2,366″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 52%
Total: 4,570
Webster Parish
Not Reporting
West Baton Rouge Parish
Votes
2,746John Bel Edwards (DEM) 55%
2,210″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 45%
Total: 4,956
West Carroll Parish
Votes
496John Bel Edwards (DEM) 23%
1,692″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 77%
Total: 2,188
West Feliciana Parish
Votes
1,318John Bel Edwards (DEM) 57%
980″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 43%
Total: 2,298
Winn Parish
Votes
547John Bel Edwards (DEM) 35%
1,003″Eddie” Rispone (REP) 65%
Total: 1,550

8:42 p.m. – In some legislative races, early results…

State Senator — 3rd Senatorial District

1 of 98 precincts reporting – 1%
absentee reporting – 2 of 3 parishes Votes
2,263 John H. Bagneris (DEM) 47%
2,569 Joseph “Joe” Bouie (DEM) 53%
Total: 4,832
State Senator — 11th Senatorial District

1 of 95 precincts reporting – 1%
absentee reporting – 100% Votes
10,093 Reid Falconer (REP) 50%
10,164 Patrick McMath (REP) 50%
Total: 20,257
State Senator — 16th Senatorial District

0 of 90 precincts reporting – 0%
absentee reporting – 0% Votes
0 Beverly Brooks Thompson (DEM) 0%
0 Franklin Foil (REP) 0%
Total: 0
State Senator — 35th Senatorial District

2 of 116 precincts reporting – 2%
absentee reporting – 4 of 6 parishes Votes
3,321 James R. “Jim” Fannin (REP) 62%
2,010 “Jay” Morris (REP) 38%
Total: 5,331
State Senator — 36th Senatorial District

7 of 106 precincts reporting – 7%
absentee reporting – 3 of 4 parishes Votes
4,010 Ryan Gatti (REP) 40%
5,948 Robert Mills (REP) 60%
Total: 9,958
State Representative — 3rd Representative District

0 of 21 precincts reporting – 0%
absentee reporting – 100% Votes
672 Tammy Phelps (DEM) 47%
759 Daryl Joy Walters (DEM) 53%
Total: 1,431
State Representative — 15th Representative District

0 of 22 precincts reporting – 0%
absentee reporting – 0% Votes
0 Foy Gadberry (REP) 0%
0 Justin M. Tidwell (REP) 0%
Total: 0
State Representative — 20th Representative District

0 of 73 precincts reporting – 0%
absentee reporting – 100% Votes
3,882 Kevin Bates (REP) 50%
3,932 Neil Riser (REP) 50%
Total: 7,814
State Representative — 21st Representative District

2 of 61 precincts reporting – 3%
absentee reporting – 100% Votes
3,259 C. Travis Johnson (DEM) 54%
2,788 Glen B. McGlothin, Jr. (IND) 46%
Total: 6,047
State Representative — 30th Representative District

3 of 54 precincts reporting – 6%
absentee reporting – 100% Votes
2,080 A. C. “Chuck” Dowden, Jr. (REP) 48%
2,215 Charles “Chuck” Owen (REP) 52%
Total: 4,295
State Representative — 31st Representative District

1 of 22 precincts reporting – 5%
absentee reporting – 100% Votes
1,994 Jonathan Goudeau (REP) 56%
1,594 “Gus” Rantz (REP) 44%
Total: 3,588
State Representative — 34th Representative District

0 of 33 precincts reporting – 0%
absentee reporting – 100% Votes
1,866 Wilford Carter, Sr. (DEM) 56%
1,455 Kevin D. Guidry (DEM) 44%
Total: 3,321
State Representative — 37th Representative District

2 of 31 precincts reporting – 6%
absentee reporting – 100% Votes
1,719 Shalon Latour (REP) 37%
2,965 Troy D. Romero (REP) 63%
Total: 4,684
State Representative — 46th Representative District

0 of 36 precincts reporting – 0%
absentee reporting – 100% Votes
3,003 Keith Baudin (REP) 54%
2,559 Michael “Mike Pete” Huval (REP) 46%
Total: 5,562
State Representative — 48th Representative District

0 of 30 precincts reporting – 0%
absentee reporting – 100% Votes
3,342 “Beau” Beaullieu (REP) 58%
2,436 Ricky Gonsoulin (REP) 42%
Total: 5,778
State Representative — 50th Representative District

14 of 44 precincts reporting – 32%
absentee reporting – 100% Votes
3,075 Raymond Harris, Jr. (NOPTY) 40%
4,627 Vincent J. St. Blanc III (REP) 60%
Total: 7,702
State Representative — 62nd Representative District

5 of 65 precincts reporting – 8%
absentee reporting – 2 of 3 parishes Votes
2,976 Roy Daryl Adams (IND) 53%
2,667 “Johnny” Arceneaux (REP) 47%
Total: 5,643
State Representative — 67th Representative District

0 of 30 precincts reporting – 0%
absentee reporting – 0% Votes
0 Leah Cullins (DEM) 0%
0 Larry Selders (DEM) 0%
Total: 0
State Representative — 68th Representative District

0 of 31 precincts reporting – 0%
absentee reporting – 0% Votes
0 Taryn C. Branson (DEM) 0%
0 Scott McKnight (REP) 0%
Total: 0
State Representative — 70th Representative District

0 of 32 precincts reporting – 0%
absentee reporting – 0% Votes
0 Belinda Davis (DEM) 0%
0 Barbara Reich Freiberg (REP) 0%
Total: 0
State Representative — 71st Representative District

0 of 22 precincts reporting – 0%
absentee reporting – 100% Votes
1,349 Lori Callais (DEM) 22%
4,691 “Buddy” Mincey, Jr. (REP) 78%
Total: 6,040
State Representative — 88th Representative District

4 of 27 precincts reporting – 15%
absentee reporting – 100% Votes
3,169 Kathy Edmonston (REP) 52%
2,944 Brandon Trosclair (REP) 48%
Total: 6,113
State Representative — 89th Representative District

0 of 30 precincts reporting – 0%
absentee reporting – 100% Votes
2,915 “Vince” Liuzza (REP) 46%
3,437 Richard Nelson (REP) 54%
Total: 6,352
State Representative — 91st Representative District

0 of 53 precincts reporting – 0%
absentee reporting – 0% Votes
0 Mandie Landry (DEM) 0%
0 Robert McKnight (DEM) 0%
Total: 0
State Representative — 94th Representative District

0 of 39 precincts reporting – 0%
absentee reporting – 1 of 2 parishes Votes
906 Stephanie Hilferty (REP) 68%
428 Tammy Savoie (DEM) 32%
Total: 1,334
State Representative — 97th Representative District

0 of 53 precincts reporting – 0%
absentee reporting – 0% Votes
0 Eugene Green (DEM) 0%
0 Matthew Willard (DEM) 0%
Total: 0
State Representative — 98th Representative District

0 of 52 precincts reporting – 0%
absentee reporting – 0% Votes
0 Aimee Adatto Freeman (DEM) 0%
0 Kea Sherman (DEM) 0%
Total: 0
State Representative — 99th Representative District

0 of 44 precincts reporting – 0%
absentee reporting – 0% Votes
0 Adonis C. Expose’ (DEM) 0%
0 Candace N. Newell (DEM) 0%
Total: 0
State Representative — 105th Representative District

1 of 22 precincts reporting – 5%
absentee reporting – 2 of 3 parishes Votes
2,215 Mack Cormier (DEM) 43%
2,984 Christopher J. “Chris” Leopold (REP) 57%
Total: 5,199

8:44 p.m. – 58 parishes have reported early votes now, and four percent of the precincts are in. The numbers for LAGOV and LASOS…

8:50 p.m. – 13 percent in…

Parishes not reporting early votes yet include Orleans, Ouachita, East Baton Rouge, Union and Webster.

9:00 p.m. – 29 percent in, which includes the early voting in East Baton Rouge Parish, where Edwards pulled 65 percent of the early vote…

9:05 p.m. – With 36 percent of the vote in, and only three parishes – Orleans, Rapides and Webster – not reporting early votes, Rispone maintains a small lead…

9:10 p.m. – The early vote from Orleans came in, and Edwards got more than 90 percent of the vote there.

With 45 percent in, Edwards is now ahead of Rispone.

9:17 p.m. – Now with 62 percent in, Rispone has retaken an 8,000-vote lead.

Whether it can hold or not is a very serious question, as he’s getting completely slaughtered in East Baton Rouge (only 34 percent of the vote) and Orleans (just 9 percent).

9:20 p.m. – It looks like Will Crain is the new Supreme Court justice, and it’s pretty obvious Kyle Ardoin has been re-elected as Secretary of State.

But can Rispone win? With 70 percent of the vote in, his lead is very thin…

9:30 p.m. – Now 81 percent in, and Rispone is hanging on to less than a 10,000 vote lead.

9:38 p.m. – The official Secretary of State results don’t show this yet, but WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge has Edwards at 699,125 and Rispone at 688,365 with 90 percent of the vote in.

We’re not quite ready to call the race, but it looks like Edwards has pulled out a very close win.

Boy, will we have a lot to say about this tomorrow.