(BATON ROUGE, La.) — With less than a month until the election, campaign events are happening across Baton Rouge. Seven candidates are on the ballot for mayor-president with campaigns centered on crime and the economy.

Former high school football coach Sid Edwards, the leading Republican candidate, was the focus of The Ronald Reagan Newsmaker Luncheon on Oct. 8. He is running against the current Democratic Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, who has been mayor since 2017, and former Biden Administration official Ted James, also a Democrat. Broome, Edwards,and James lead the race according to a recent poll by LJR Custom Strategies commissioned by Democrats for Education Reform Louisiana. 

The luncheon addressed city-wide crime and economy concerns in a race that could be a pivotal moment for the Louisiana capital. 

Woody Jenkins, Republican chairman for East Baton Rouge Parish and former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, led the luncheon at Cafe Americain joined by former Metro Council Member Darrell Glasper and political commentator and Edwards’s Campaign Coordinator Mason Batts to advocate their support for Edwards. The luncheon hall was filled with some 20 people of all ages looking to gain insight into Edwards’s campaign. With Edwards working at Istrouma High during the event, according to Jenkins, his wife was there to represent him at the luncheon. 

“We have fallen on hard times,” Jenkins said. “Crime has become a gigantic issue for people … We’ve been the murder capital, one of the murder capitals, of this country. … No one is in charge of this city, and it’s been that way a long time.” 

Pictured: Woody Jenkins [Credit: Jolice Provost for the Central City News]

Jenkins comments about the dangers of North Baton Rouge, which has a higher crime rate than other areas, were met by approval from several attendees. One woman said, “Actions, changes, results.” 

Baton Rouge has had a Democratic mayor since 2005. The last Republican to serve was Bobby Ray Simpson from 2001-2005. Broome has been mayor-president since 2017. In a recent poll by BRAC, Broome was leading with 29% of the vote. Democrat Ted James and Republican Sid Edwards followed with 23%. The remaining vote was 3% for Republican Steve Myers with other candidates receiving below 2%.

“This race is a very, very good race for three good people to be in,” former Metro Council Member Glasper said. “What I see in Coach Sid right now, is what I saw in Sharon Weston Broome 36 years ago. I see a beautiful soul,” he added. 

Having known Edwards for 23 years, Glasper stressed his support for the Republican candidate as he spoke highly of Edwards. 

“You don’t need a politician, you need a leader!” Glasper said to the people in attendance and those watching the broadcast on Central City News’s Facebook page. “It takes leadership…  We are in a crisis economically in this town. … This race is one that a Republican can win.”

Pictured: Darrell Glasper (left) and Mason Batts (right) [Credit: Jolice Provost for the Central City News]

Batts shared that businesses born in Baton Rouge are leaving because of the failed developments of Ted James., who served as head of the U.S. Small Business Administration from 2022-2024. 

“If you believe by voting for Ted James that you are gonna get something better than what you have now, you’re wrong,” Batts said after noting the budget issues citizens have seen in Baton Rouge. “[Sid Edwards] is the hard-working man we need to fix this city.”

Jenkins’s prediction for the upcoming November election is 42%-43% of the vote going to Sid Edwards, and the run-off race consisting of Broome and Edwards. Jenkins predicts Edwards will win the primary election. According to the Louisiana State Legislature, if there is not a majority vote for one candidate, the two candidates with the highest number of votes qualify for the runoff election.

Early voting in the Baton Rouge area runs Oct. 18 – 29 at designated early voting locations from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Election Day is Nov. 5.