Louisiana GOP slams Edwards business summit as campaign ploy

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's Republican Party is objecting to Gov. John Bel Edwards' plans to hold a business summit Thursday, calling it a taxpayer-financed campaign event.

The GOP suggests the Democratic governor has created the summit to bolster his bid for a second term in office.

Edwards' office said the all-day event in Baton Rouge is aimed at linking business leaders with government officials and highlighting "economic development success stories." Edwards will give a speech, and several panel discussions will be held.

The Republican Party said in a statement Tuesday that more than half the summit's panelists work for Edwards' administration or donated to his campaign directly or through their companies.