Qualifying begins Wednesday for the October 11th election and the biggest race in the state is the mayor’s race in New Orleans. Current mayor LaToya Cantrell is term limited and cannot seek a third term. UNO pollster Ed Chervenak expects several candidates will sign up to qualify over the next three days and as it stands now, four of them have a shot.
“Arthur Hunter, Oliver Thomas, Helena Moreno, Royce Duplessis. They have the best guys, but that’s not going to stop other people from running,” Chervenak said.
Former Orleans Parish Criminal Court Judge Arthur Hunter, New Orleans City Council president Helena Moreno, city councilor Oliver Thomas and state senator Royce Duplessis have the highest name recognition. Chervenak says two polls have been conducted on the race and Moreno is the favorite.
“She (Moreno) also leads in fundraising by a significant margin, but polls are not predictive of the future. It may be more about name recognition than anything else, and we’ll have to see how the polls shift, if they shift, as we move through the campaign,” Chervenak explained.
Duplessis announced his entrance into the race less than two weeks ago. He has been an outspoken state lawmaker since 2019 and Chervenak says Duplessis can use his experience as a legislator to his advantage.
“He can bring this outsider perspective coming from Baton Rouge and representing the state Senate District, as opposed to those folks who have been in office and could be blamed for what’s going on in the city right now,” Chervenak said.
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