Eddie Rispone | |
---|---|
Born | Edward Lee Rispone January 21, 1949
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. |
Education | Louisiana State University ( BS) |
Occupation | Businessman |
Political party | Republican |
Spouses | Phyllis Rispone
(
m. 1970; died 2005)Linda Rispone (
m. 2007) |
Edward Lee Rispone ( /rɪsˈpoʊni/ ris-POH-nee; born January 21, 1949) is an American businessman and politician from the state of Louisiana. He ran as a Republican Party candidate for Governor of Louisiana in the 2019 election, losing to incumbent Democrat John Bel Edwards.
Rispone was raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His father worked as a compressor machinist at an oil refinery owned by Standard Oil, and his mother was a homemaker. He has five brothers and one sister. [1] [2]
Rispone graduated from Redemptorist High School in Baton Rouge. In high school, he played football as a linebacker and offensive guard, and was named to the all-state team in his senior year. [3] He graduated from Louisiana State University, with a concentration in construction technology, in 1972. [1] [2]
Rispone began working in construction while he was still in school. In 1989, he and his brother Jerry founded ISC Constructors; in 2017 he said that the company had annual revenues of $350 million. [2] In 2000 he criticized a tax increase approved by a state house committee stating that "this has the potential to wipe out all of our profits" due to his business operating on a small profit. [4] In 2003 he was elected the national chairman of the Associated Builders and Contractors. [2] The Louisiana Federation for Children, which advocates for school vouchers, named Rispone as its chairman in 2011. Governor Bobby Jindal appointed him to chair the Louisiana Workforce Investment Council. [1]
In October 2018, Rispone declared his candidacy in the 2019 Louisiana gubernatorial election as a Republican. [5] On October 12, 2019, Rispone finished in second place in the all-candidate election with 27% of the vote, behind incumbent John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, who received 47%, and ahead of Republican congressman Ralph Abraham, who received 24%. Rispone and Edwards advanced to the November 16 runoff election. [6] Edwards defeated Rispone in the runoff election. [7]
Rispone and his first wife, Phyllis, were married for 35 years. She died in 2005 of cancer. [2] Rispone married his second wife, Linda, in 2007. He and Linda have seven children and 24 grandchildren as of September 2019. [1]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | John Bel Edwards (incumbent) | 625,970 | 46.6 | |
Republican | Eddie Rispone | 368,319 | 27.4 | |
Republican | Ralph Abraham | 317,149 | 23.6 | |
Democratic | Oscar Dantzler | 10,993 | 0.8 | |
Republican | Patrick Landry | 10,966 | 0.8 | |
Independent | Gary Landrieu | 10,084 | 0.7 | |
Total votes | 1,343,481 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | John Bel Edwards (incumbent) | 774,469 | 51.34% | -4.77% | |
Republican | Eddie Rispone | 734,128 | 48.66% | +4.77% | |
Total votes | 1,508,597 | 100.00% | N/A |