LSU FOLLOWS FAMILIAR FORMULA TO OUTLAST SOUTH CAROLINA 1C
Oscar-winning star Diane Keaton dies at 79 4A
N O L A.C O M
AREA RESULTS COUNCIL MEMBER:
DISTRICT A
RUNOFF BETWEEN:
Holly Friedman
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S u n d ay, O c t O b e r 12, 2025
$2.50X
NEW ORLEANS MAYOR
MORENO WINS Diverse coalition propels front-runner to outright victory in primary
Aimee McCarron
COUNCIL MEMBER:
DISTRICT C WINNER:
Freddie King III
COUNCIL MEMBER:
DISTRICT D WINNER:
Eugene Green
COUNCIL MEMBER:
DISTRICT E
RUNOFF BETWEEN:
STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno celebrates with supporters at her election night watch party at the Civic Theatre in New Orleans on Saturday. BY JAMES FINN and SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writers
Jason Hughes
Cyndi Nguyen
COUNCIL AT-LARGE:
DIVISION 1 WINNER:
Matthew Willard
Helena Moreno will be New Orleans’ next mayor after securing an outright victory in Saturday’s municipal primary, capping a campaign that marshaled a diverse coalition despite a flurry of attacks from opponents in the race’s final weeks. Moreno, 48, becomes the second woman to win New Orleans’ top office and the first Hispanic person to earn that title. She will succeed Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who is set to depart office due to term limits in January following a scandal-ridden second term. Months of polling projected that Moreno would secure between 47% and 51% of the vote on primary night. That put her on a knife’s edge to exceed the 50% needed to win outright and avoid a November runoff, which would’ve scrambled the race’s dynamics. The contest’s consensus front-runner, Moreno had notched 55% of New Orleans’ citywide vote just over an hour after polls
COUNCIL AT-LARGE:
DIVISION 2
closed on Saturday, according to prelimi- feel, how humbled I am by this experience, nary results tallied by the Louisiana Secre- and what it means to me and my family standing behind me,” Duplessis told his suptary of State’s Office. By 9:08 p.m., Moreno had seporters. “In a democratic process cured enough votes for WWL-TV “We’re about you have to be willing to accept the outcome.” to call the race in her favor. She Thomas also conceded the race gave an exultant victory speech to take this city in a whole new shortly before 10 p.m. almost an hour after that. direction, so Her outright victory affirms a “We’re about to take this city campaign some analysts said she in a whole new direction, so that that you can you can always, always call New always, always had effectively been running for her eight years on the City CounOrleans home,” Moreno said to a full house at the Civic Theater in call New Orleans cil. In TV ads, forums and camhome.” the Central Business District. paign appearances, Moreno, a Moreno becomes the only perDemocrat, hammered a message NEW ORLEANS that she had the right blend of exson in the city’s modern history MAyOR-ELECT besides Mitch Landrieu to win perience within city government HELENA MORENO and fresh perspective to turn the a race for an open New Orleans mayoral seat outright in the pritide on New Orleans’ bevy of enmary. trenched challenges. By 10 p.m., state Sen. Royce Duplessis, DShe hewed her message to things New OrNew Orleans, had won 22% of the vote. City leanians regularly bemoan: cracked streets, Council member Oliver Thomas had won dysfunctional government, a lagging 18% of the vote. ä See MORENO, page 6A “I cannot express to you how blessed I
ORLEANS PARISH
WINNER:
Woodfork defeats Hutson in sheriff’s race BY JOSEPH CRANNEY
Staff writer JP Morrell
ä In Slidell mayor’s race,
Randy Fandal wins. PAGE 7A
WEATHER HIGH 84 LOW 63 PAGE 8B
Orleans Parish voters booted Sheriff Susan Hutson from office Saturday, replacing her with Michelle Woodfork, a 30-year New Orleans police officer who rose to become interim superintendent. WWL-TV called the race for Woodfork about 9:20 p.m.
Woodfork, 55, won with 53% of the vote, with 2nd City Constable Edwin Shorty at 21% and Hutson at 17%. The vote came almost five months after a group of detainees escaped the jail Hutson runs, a historic breach of safety that doomed her reelection campaign. Woodfork is the second Black woman, after Hutson, to be elected sheriff in Louisiana. She’ll take over a badly
overcrowded and underfunded jail under the watch of a federal judge. The May 15 escape is under investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office, too. “We did it!” Woodfork said in a victory speech. She thanked Hutson and took a dig at Shorty in the wake of a chippy campaign.
ä See WOODFORK, page 8A Woodfork
Business ......................1E Deaths .........................3B Nation-World................2A Classified ..................... 2F Living............................1D Opinion ........................6B Commentary ................7B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C
13TH yEAR, NO. 61