Former State Rep. Ted James announced Thursday that he is running for East 香港六和开奖历史记录 Mayor-President, giving two-term incumbent Sharon Weston Broome a challenge from a well-established fellow Democrat.
James announced his bid Thursday morning under at the McKinley High School Alumni Center before a crowd of about 200 supporters. His candidacy had been the subject of rumor for weeks leading up to Thursday鈥檚 announcement, with talks ramping up in January after he said he was resigning from his role as regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration.
鈥淔or the past 12 years, I have dedicated my life and service to this community,鈥 James said. 鈥淚 am proud of the work we did in the Legislature, I am proud of the work that we did at the SBA, but I am constantly looking for ways to do more in this community because the needs are still too great. That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e here today.鈥
James said he wanted to return to local government after his stint in a federal job to bring change to his hometown. His high school teacher and a close family friend took the podium to speak to his leadership abilities from a young age, as he progressed from high school student government president to legislator to mayoral candidate.
鈥溝愀哿涂崩芳锹, your native son is here today in this moment, ready, prepared and able,鈥 James said. 鈥淚 am running to be your mayor-president.鈥
James served in the Louisiana House of Representatives for 10 years, serving as chairman for the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus and chairman of the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee.
He resigned from his post in 2022 to serve his appointment with the U.S. Small Business Administration, where he oversaw administration operations across Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. He left that role Feb. 10 to launch his mayoral campaign.
Broome, 香港六和开奖历史记录鈥檚 first female mayor, won her previous two runoff elections: in 2016 against former Sen. Bodi White, and in 2020 against the late former Rep. Steve Carter, both Republicans. Before becoming mayor, Broome served as a 香港六和开奖历史记录 Metro Council member, state representative and state senator.
Broome鈥檚 campaign said in a statement Thursday it was 鈥渆ager to discuss with voters the progress Mayor Broome has achieved over the past seven years鈥 and pointed to local business investments, community-based public safety initiatives and new infrastructure and drainage projects.
鈥淢ayor Broome has helped build a solid foundation for future growth in our parish and looks forward to highlighting her record while she continues to work everyday to make the parish safer and prosperous,鈥 her campaign said.
No other candidates have formally announced their run for mayor. David Tatman, a Republican and former six-year president of the East 香港六和开奖历史记录 Parish School Board, has seemingly created a campaign website,聽聽and posted a video聽聽but has not explicitly stated he is running for mayor-president.
Tatman has not responded to calls to his cellphone or his office.
A formidable challenger?
James鈥 long political resume positions him as a potentially formidable opponent for Broome, another Democrat who is seeking her third and final term in office. But running against a two-time incumbent in the same party can be a tough challenge, political analysts say.
鈥淭his race is not about my relationship with any individual person,鈥 James said at his event. 鈥淭his race is about my relationship with my hometown. Sometimes what I want to see may differ from what other people want to see.鈥
Under Louisiana鈥檚 jungle primary system, James will have to place in the top two against all mayoral candidates in the Nov. 5 primary election (assuming no candidate garners over 50% of the vote) and get the majority of votes in the general election. That could be a daunting task for a Democrat running against an incumbent Democrat, said John Couvillon, CEO of JMC Analytics and Polling and a close observer of Louisiana elections.
鈥淭he question then becomes, what would be the means by which he (James) differentiates from Mayor Broome?鈥 Couvillon said. 鈥淗e has to pull off a respectable number of Democrats, and maybe even Republicans and Independents, to force her into a runoff.鈥
The most prominent Democrat to run against Broome in previous elections was Rep. Denise Marcelle in 2020, who lost in the primary election after coming in fifth place with 7% of the vote; Broome got 48% of the vote, and her primary Republican challenger, Steve Carter got 20%. Broome went on to defeat Carter 57% to 43%.
Marcelle also ran against Broome in 2016, but ranked in third with 13% of the vote.
Couvillon said James could have more fundraising muscle than Marcelle and may be able to run a more visible campaign, which might make him a tougher challenge for Broome. If that proves true, the two could split the Democratic vote, allowing a Republican to make the runoff.
About 45% of East 香港六和开奖历史记录 Parish鈥檚 voters are registered Democrats, while another 27% are Republicans, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State鈥檚 Office. About 27% of voters are registered as Independents, unaffiliated or under other parties.
Broome鈥檚 biggest obstacle in this election, Couvillon said, will likely be criticisms over the state of crime and homelessness in 香港六和开奖历史记录.
鈥淭he challenge she has in seeking another term 鈥 would be increased coverage about crime and homelessness, where the inclination would be to take it out on the incumbent,鈥 Couvillon said.
香港六和开奖历史记录 homicides reached a record high in 2021 but have been trending steadily downward since; however, they have yet to dip below pre-pandemic levels. Broome said in her State of the City report last month that gun violence was down 34% over the past two years.
Broome also announced Tuesday the opening of a new 24-hour homeless shelter with 128 beds to help families recover from homelessness.
James said in his campaign speech Thursday that he would take 鈥渁 holistic approach鈥 to public safety, from partnering with law enforcement, public defenders and district attorneys to addressing causes of crime like blight and poor education.
November鈥檚 primary will also coincide with the U.S. Presidential Election, meaning turnout will likely be significantly greater than the聽聽of last year鈥檚 gubernatorial election.
Couvillon predicted at least 200,000 East 香港六和开奖历史记录 Parish voters will turn out for the Nov. 5 primary, with voters tilting more Democrat. This would more than double the voter turnout in East 香港六和开奖历史记录 Parish in last year鈥檚 gubernatorial election.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the most important contextual factor聽鈥 that it鈥檚 sharing the ballot with the presidential election,鈥 Couvillon said.
