New Orleans mayoral election, 1998

New Orleans Mayoral Election, 1998

1994 ← February 7, 1998 → 2002

Party Democratic Democratic Popular vote 92,378 22,767 Percentage 79% 20%

Mayor before election Marc Morial Democratic Elected Mayor Marc Morial Democratic

The New Orleans mayoral election of 1998 was held on February 7, 1998, and resulted in the reelection of incumbent Marc Morial to a second term as Mayor of New Orleans.^[1]

Elections in Louisiana—with the exception of U.S. presidential elections—follow a variation of the open primary system. Candidates of any and all parties are listed on one ballot; voters need not limit themselves to the candidates of one party. Unless one candidate takes more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a run-off election is then held between the top two candidates, who may in fact be members of the same party. In this election, no run-off was needed as Morial won over 50% of the vote in the first round.

Candidate	Party affiliation	Votes received	Percentage of votes cast
Marc Morial	Democrat	92,378	79%
Kathleen Cresson	Democrat	22,767	20%
Paul Borrello	None	1,398	1%

Marc Morial won an easy re-election, with the widest margin of victory in a New Orleans election in several decades. Neither of his opponents - lawyer Kathleen Cresson and arts store manager Paul Borrello - were particularly well-known. With the re-election of the popular Morial widely seen as a foregone conclusion months before election day, the race met with unusual apathy among the city's media and electorate. Debates were not televised, no polls were commissioned, and only 41% of New Orleans electors bothered to vote.

References

1. ^ Louisiana Secretary of State Election Results, 7 Saturday 1998, Mayor, City of New Orleans.

Sources

• Secretary of State Elections Division. Official Election Results Database
• The Times Picayune. "Morial a winner where he once lost; support crosses racial bounds." February 12, 1998.
• The Times Picayune. "Mayor's margin widest since 1961." February 8, 1998.

Preceded by 1994 mayoral election

New Orleans mayoral elections

Succeeded by 2002 mayoral election