--- description: It gets nasty in the bayou title: David Vitter Prostitution Ties Shape Louisiana Governor Race image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb993dce889b691cf/698866575f570f7d2db1da8a/david-vitter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Republican David Vitter Battles Prostitution Scandal in the Bayou by [Michael Scherer](/author/michael-scherer/) ## Michael Scherer Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 10, 2015 2:53 PM CUT  Sen. David Vitter, R-La., leaves the bipartisan Senate luncheon in the Kennedy Caucus Room in the Russell Senate Office Building on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., leaves the bipartisan Senate luncheon in the Kennedy Caucus Room in the Russell Senate Office Building on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015.Bill Clark—CQ-Roll Call,Inc. by [Michael Scherer](/author/michael-scherer/) ## Michael Scherer Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 10, 2015 2:53 PM CUT If you find yourself explaining your prostitution scandal in a paid advertisement in the final days of a gubernatorial campaign, things could be better. So it goes for Sen. David Vitter, the Louisiana Republican, who has long been a favorite to succeed Gov. Bobby Jindal. Last week, he woke up to face one of the most brutal attack ads in American political history, which riffed on his admission in 2007 of “sin” when his phone number was found in the records of a D.C. madam, who ran a high-end prostitution ring. “David Vitter chose prostitutes over patriots,” runs the tagline. Vitter’s response was put on a couple plaid shirts and gather his handsome family together around a well-stocked breakfast table to record a spot aptly titled “Difficult Times.” The message: If he could get up from a prostitution scandal to find forgiveness from his family, he can get up and fight for voters in Louisiana. If life deals you lemons, you do what you can. John Bel Edwards is polling above 50% in the average of four polls conducted in recent weeks. The [able handicappers at the University of Virginia](http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/ratings-change-louisiana-gubernatorial-race-now-a-toss-up/ "undefined") rate the race a red state toss up. The run-off election is scheduled for Nov. 21. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4106210/david-vitter-prostitute-louisiana-governor/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4106210/david-vitter-prostitute-louisiana-governor/"},"headline":"Republican David Vitter Battles Prostitution Scandal in the Bayou","datePublished":"2015-11-10T14:53:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:28:38.233Z","description":"It gets nasty in the bayou","url":"https://time.com/4106210/david-vitter-prostitute-louisiana-governor/","keywords":["Louisiana","governor","Republican"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb993dce889b691cf/698866575f570f7d2db1da8a/david-vitter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michael Scherer","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/michael-scherer/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb993dce889b691cf/698866575f570f7d2db1da8a/david-vitter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Sen. David Vitter, R-La., leaves the bipartisan Senate luncheon in the Kennedy Caucus Room in the Russell Senate Office Building on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015.","caption":"Sen. David Vitter, R-La., leaves the bipartisan Senate luncheon in the Kennedy Caucus Room in the Russell Senate Office Building on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015.","creditText":"Bill Clark—CQ-Roll Call,Inc.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4106210/david-vitter-prostitute-louisiana-governor/","name":"Republican David Vitter Battles Prostitution Scandal in the Bayou"}}]}] ```