Louisiana faces changes in tradition.

According to polls by WVLA and JMC Analytics, a democratic governor may take office for the first time in seven years.

State Rep. John Bel Edwards opposes U.S. Sen. David Vitter for the highest office in the state.

Edwards and Vitter are both anti-abortion and pro-gun candidates. They both plan to tackle the state’s budget crisis and restore the coastline if they are elected to move into the governor’s mansion.

“Both candidates are very qualified for the job and that is why I think this race has been such a close one,” said Lauren Lewis, a junior political science major.

Lewis said people hurt themselves by not voting because the majority no longer rules, since 36 percent of voters participated in the primary.

Joshua Stockley, associate professor of political science, said if he were in the race, his priority would be “correcting our structural deficits.”

“We are not a poor state,” said Stockley. “We are a financially mismanaged state. We need to identify inefficient tax expenditures, eliminate those tax expenditures and use lost revenue to meet current fiscal needs in education, health care and transportation.”

Both candidates promise to stabilize funding for higher education. Edwards said he wants Louisiana to be a 50/50 funding split before the end of his term.

This approach splits costs between the state’s support and tuition and fees paid by students. Vitter has not specified on how he would stabilize funding.

Erin Scott is voting for Edwards in the runoff election even though she didn’t vote for him in the primary.

“I would rather vote for an honest Democrat than a lying Republican,” said Scott, a freshman political science major.

Lewis voted for Vitter in the primary and is voting for him in the runoff. She says she encourages all Republicans to rally behind Vitter.

The runoff debate will take place on Tueday, Nov. 12 in Baton Rouge.