Ray Nagin - 2006 Mayoral Election

2006 Mayoral Election

The 2006 mayoral race was one of the most expensive in New Orleans history. At the time of this election, at least two-thirds of its residents were still displaced. One candidate said in his Times Picayune interview he was running because the city's demographics had dramatically changed. There were three unsuccessful lawsuits filed to prevent delaying the original election date.

The state first performed a voter purge and then set up a complicated voting process that required most displaced voters to travel back home. In addition, elaborate absentee voting procedures were required to included multiple mailings, notarizing documents and extensive verifications. An April 1 protest march in the city called for satellite voting to give displaced voters the same rights as those who had returned.

In the April 22 election, Nagin was the front runner with 38% of the vote. Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu came in second with 29%. Nagin and Landrieu faced each other in a run-off election on May 20, 2006. Nagin defeated Landrieu 52% to 48%.