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Political analyst gives input after Edwards gets more votes than Broome, James in EBR race
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BATON ROUGE -- The race for East Baton Rouge Mayor-President is headed for a runoff between incumbent Sharon Weston-Broome and Republican challenger Sid Edwards.
Political analysts were surprised when Edwards received more votes than Broome or Democratic challenger Ted James. Just six percentage points separated the three, with Edwards getting 34 percent of the vote, Broome getting 31, and James having 28 percent.
"It was a bit of a surprise that Coach Edwards polled as well as he did; you know, coming in first place against an incumbent, that's quite a coup, but on the other hand, Ted James and Sharon Weston-Broome were splitting the Democrat vote," Political Analyst James Hartman said.
With two Democrats and one Republican in the race, Hartman says that Broome and James should've focused their efforts on one another rather than on Edwards.
Hartman says that was a contributing factor to the Democratic vote being split, allowing Edwards to grab the highest vote total.
"He did especially well in the North part of the parish and the Northeast part of the parish, with his base being in Central, of course, and the backing of Woody Jenkins, who's a force to be reckoned with in EBR, especially in that part of the parish," Hartman said.
According to Hartman, this year being a presidential election also helped Edwards.
"A parish that is racially diverse, and a white Republican, the only essentially strong white Republican candidate, on the same ballot as Donald Trump, he had a built-in base and a built-in surge there that Ted James' millions of dollars just couldn't overcome," Hartman said.
According to the votes, Mayor-President Broome was very successful in North Baton Rouge, an area where she typically does well. James was not able to chip away enough of the vote in that area.
The runoff election between Edwards and Broome is becoming a new normal, according to Hartman. It features a political outsider against an experienced politician.
"What we've learned in the last 10 years, if nothing else, is that voters love outsiders. More and more, people are not voting for experience; they're voting for personality and charisma," Hartman said.
The runoff is set for Dec. 7, with early voting beginning the Friday before Thanksgiving.
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