John Bel Edwards, the only Democratic governor in the Deep South, is seeking a second term in Louisiana by running as much against his own party as his Republican opponent.

Edwards on Saturday fell short 3 percentage points of the 50% threshold in the states all-parties gubernatorial primary. Winning an outright majority would have meant an outright victory for Edwards, who instead on Nov. 16 will face the second-place finisher, Republican businessman Edward Rispone.

Edwards, a West Point graduate and former Army Ranger, is a conservative Democrat who signed one of the most stringent laws against abortion this year and opposes restrictions on the Second Amendment.

Additionally, he distanced himself from the impeachment inquiry against President Trump, saying it is a disruption from governing in Washington.

According to a new Gray Television poll, of their six local affiliates around the state, 57% of Louisiana voters oppose impeachment of the president, while 35% support it.

Democrats bet on Edwards conservative policy background as reason for why he would likely forgo the November runoff and go directly back to the governors mansion.

However, Trumps last minute rally in the state on Friday to get out to vote to keep Edwards from breaking 50% may have made the difference. Focusing on Democrats who want to impeach him, Trump railed against his own opponents in Washington.

The governor attempted to distance himself from his own party, wrote Independent Baton Rouge pollster John Couvillon, but to no avail.

Not only was Governor Edwards forced into a runoff that many pundits thought wasnt going to happen, but even with an incumbent Democrat who downplayed his Democratic Party affiliation (while publicly noting the nine times he visited the Trump White House), voters by a 52-47% margin chose a Republican candidate, Couvillon said.

Rispone, a construction magnate, is one of Louisiana's wealthiest business owners, who has already put in $10 million of his own money.

Sabatos Crystal Ball, a political campaign ratings and review website based out of the University of Virginia, now rates the Nov. 16 runoff as a tossup.

The Democrat governor also has political history working against him as only five governors in state history have won a second term. He must now compete against Rispone, who has the support of a president, who in 2016 won Louisiana by 20 points. And according to the latest Morning Consult tracking poll, Trump's approval rating in Louisiana is 56%.

Read more:

Democratic Louisiana governor distances himself from national party in reelection bid - Washington Examiner