Qualifying begins today for the October 11th election, and the biggest race is for mayor of 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 real shot.
“Arthur Hunter, Oliver Thomas, Helena Moreno, Royce Duplessis. They have the best odds, 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 Councilman 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," the pollster notes.
He stressed that polls are not always 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 after saying months ago that he would not run. 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.