A new poll from UNO pollster Ed Chervenak shows New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell continues to enjoy a high approval rating from likely New Orleans voters ahead of the November 13th election. Cantrell faces no significant opposition in her reelection effort, and these numbers support what most political analysts have told WWL; that Cantrell will win without a run-off.
Chervenak’s poll puts Cantrell’s approval at 57%, but shows a big racial divide in her support. 70% of New Orleans Blacks approve of the Mayor’s job while only 42% of New Orleans whites said the same. Even among whites, there’s a major partisan divide among those opposed.
“It’s primarily among the white Republicans, particularly in District A her approval rating is only 49%,” said Chervenak who noted about 12% of those polled did not give a response when asked about the Mayor.
Cantrell’s support is highest in New Orleans East and Upper 9th based District E and Algiers and French Quarter based district C.
Chervenak told WWL Cantrell’s approval rating is not surprising.
“She’s pretty much where someone like Mitch Landrieu was, who was relatively popular. New Orleanians tend to really love their Mayor, this is why they are reelected, no Mayor has been denied a second term in modern New Orleans history,” said Chervenak. “They seem to be giving her a pass on the Ida recovery and are giving her credit for dealing with COVID.”
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Cantrell enjoys approval in the mid to upper 50’s from all age groups except those 35-44, where she’s just above water at 51%.
Chervenak also polled the Division One and Two At-Large City Council races. He found D1 is largely a formality with Helena Moreno expected to win reelection handily. The D2 race appears to be wide open.
D2 sees former state lawmaker JP Morrell against current City Councilwoman Kristen Palmer. Morrell holds a 34%-26% lead, but 39% of voters remain undecided.
“We seem to have an electorate that is not quite checked in on the election yet and they have not really checked in on the election yet,” said Chervenak. “Things like we’re in a hangover from both Hurricane Ida and from COVID, so people are distracted and getting their lives together. Politics right now is a sideshow.”
City Councilman Jared Brossett, who suspended his campaign following a DWI arrest, is on the ballot but was not listed as an option for respondents.
Green Party candidate Bart Everson is also running, but has support in the low single digits.
The D2 race also has another racial divide in support for the candidates. 42% of Black decided voters and 13% of white decided voters back Morrell while 23% of Black decided voters and 42% of white decided voters support Palmer.
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Those polled were also asked what the biggest problem facing the city was. 39% said crime, followed by “other” at 13%, “don’t know” at 12%, and streets/infrastructure at 11%.