Despite suspending her campaign amid May's great Orleans Parish Jail escape, Sheriff Susan Hutson says she will qualify to run for reelection before Friday's deadline. However, with a public approval rating below 20 percent, Hutson is facing an uphill battle in her quest for a second term.
University of New Orleans political science professor Ed Chervenak says he's not surprised that Sheriff Hutson intends to qualify to run for reelection.
"She's a fighter, and she's never backed down from a fight," Chervenak said.
Still, Chervenak acknowledges that Hutson is a dark horse to win the race. He says Hutson's decision to run puts a spotlight the job she's done during her term in office.
"Now the focus is on her because she's the incumbent," Chervenak said. "She's the incumbent, and she's the one who's been overseeing the jail. Of course, we've seen a number of financial improprieties, and then it culminated with the jailbreak."
Chervenak says he expects Hutson's platform to consist of a single plank: a blame game deflecting the problems she's faced as sheriff.
"She's really got to convince people that others are responsible for the conditions at the jail and that did the best job that she could and that, given the resources, she could do a better job," Chervenak said. "Even though her approval ratings are (at) rock bottom, she feels that she is not to blame for the conditions at the jail. She feels that the city council has not provided enough money and financing for her to run the jail competently."
It's a strategy that Chervenak expects will do little to help Hutson's case.
"It's a very difficult task. She really has an uphill battle," Chervenak said. "When you're at a 20-percent job approval, people really aren't going to pay attention to what you're going to have to say."
In fact, Chervenak says the strategy of blaming others for problems in her office could help Hutson's opponents draw voters away from her base to theirs.
"I'm not sure what her base is at this time, but it will be more interesting to see how they pull votes away from Sheriff Hutson than how she will pull votes from them," Chervenak said.
