The New Orleans mayoral election of 1977 resulted in the election of
Ernest Morial
Ernest Nathan "Dutch" Morial (October 9, 1929 – December 24, 1989), was an American political figure and a leading civil rights advocate. He was the first African-American mayor of New Orleans, serving from 1978 to 1986. He was the father of Ma ...
as the first
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
mayor of New Orleans
The post of Mayor of the City of New Orleans (french: Maire de La Nouvelle-Orléans) has been held by the following individuals since New Orleans came under American administration following the Louisiana Purchase — the acquisition by the U.S. ...
.
Background
Elections in
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
—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, the first round of voting was held on October 1, 1977, and the runoff was held on November 12.
The 1977 municipal elections were the first under Louisiana's open primary law signed by Governor
Edwin Edwards
Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972– ...
two years earlier.
Under the New Orleans City Charter adopted by voters in 1954, Incumbent mayor
Moon Landrieu
Moon Edwin Landrieu (born Maurice Edwin Landrieu; July 23, 1930 – September 5, 2022) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th mayor of New Orleans from 1970 to 1978. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented New Orl ...
was
term-limited
A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of Term of office, terms an Incumbent, officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in Presidential system, presidential and semi-presidential system ...
.
Results
Primary, October 1
A total of 154,643 votes were cast
Runoff, November 12
Sources
* Board of Supervisors of Elections for the Parish of Orleans. ''Election Returns of Orleans Parish'', 1977.
{{1977 United States elections
Mayoral elections in New Orleans
1977 Louisiana elections