The 2020 Baton Rouge mayoral election was held on November 3, 2020 and December 5, 2020 to elect the mayor-president of

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

. As no candidate won a majority in the first round, a runoff was held between the top two candidates, incumbent Mayor-President

Sharon Weston Broome Sharon Weston Broome (born October 1, 1956) is the mayor-president of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She served in the Louisiana State Senate representing the 15th district from 2005 to 2016. She was elected mayor-president in a runoff election held o ...

of the Democratic Party and fmr. State Representative Steve Carter of the Republican Party. Despite initially tight polls in the runoff, which showed Carter within reach of winning the election, Broome won by a decisive margin. Held in the midst of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, campaigning was limited to smaller private events, limiting both candidates' exposure and public attention on the race. Major issues of the race were: crime, economic development, pandemic recovery, infrastructure, and education. Due to consistently lack-luster public support of incumbent Mayor-President Broome, the race drew seven total candidates, the most a mayoral incumbent in East Baton Rouge Parish had faced in nearly 30 years. Following the race's conclusion, runner-up Steve Carter contracted COVID-19, dying two months later from COVID-19 related complications on January 26, 2021. Carter's death was followed by an outpouring of fond emotion, including from his electoral opponent Broome, who stated, "You never saw him without a smile on his face and a hand extended to greet you, Steve was a Baton Rougean through and through. I am tremendously sad to have lost yet another friend and neighbor to COVID-19. Our thoughts and prayers are with Steve's family and his many friends as we mourn his great loss."

Declared

, incumbent Mayor-President (Party preference: Democratic) * Matthew Watson, East Baton Rouge Metro Councilman (Party preference:

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

) * Steve Carter, former State Representative (Party preference: Republican) * C. Denise Marcelle, State Representative (Party preference: Democratic) * Jordan Piazza, owner of Uncle Earl's Bar (Party preference: Republican) * E. Eric Guirard, attorney (Party preference:

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

) * Frank Smith III, property manager (Party preference: Republican)

Disqualified

*Tara Wicker, Baton Rouge Metro Councilwoman (Party preference: Democratic)

Polling

Results

The election resulted in a

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

between Broome and former Republican state representative Steve Carter, after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote.

Runoff results

Incumbent Mayor

would win the December 5 runoff after securing a decisive 57% of the vote. Broome's opponent, former State Representative Steve Carter received 43%. Broome's victory was the first time any female had been re-elected to the position. Carter called Broome just after 9:30 p.m. December 5, 2020 to congratulate her on her victory. Baton Rouge has historically voted democrat in its local elections. Only two republicans have held the office over the last 100 years.

Notes

References

External links

;Official campaign websites for mayoral candidates
Jordan Piazza (I) for Mayor-President

Matthew Watson (R) for Mayor-President
{{2020 United States elections

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of 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-sma ...

Mayoral elections in Baton Rouge, Louisiana