Fundamentals of Mayor-President Race Look Good For Sid Edwards

By Woody Jenkins, Editor, St. George Leader – Baton Rouge

The political class in East Baton Rouge Parish has been fond of saying lately that it is “impossible” for a Republican to win the race for Mayor-President.  That’s an amazing statement considering the results of the election last fall:

•Republican Nancy Landry carried EBR last fall for Secretary of State with 54 percent.

•Republican Liz Murrill carried EBR for Attorney General with 53 percent.

•Republican Dr. John Fleming carried EBR for Treasurer with 52 percent.

It’s also amazing since all parishwide elected officials in EBR are Republicans except Sharon Weston Broome.

A close look at voter registration helps explain why.

East Baton Rouge Parish has

•140,871 white voters

•127,392 black voters

•18,488 other race voters

The current race for Mayor-President is unprecedented because there are two major black Democratic candidates in the race. 

Dividing Black Support

Mayor-President Sharon West-on Broome and former Rep. Ted James are fighting for support from the same political base — the 127,000 black mostly Democratic-leaning voters in the parish. Their competition for support in the black community complicates the path to victory for either one. 

Clearly, they will split the vote which each one desperately needs to make the runoff.

In a real sense, Broome and James have boxed themselves in with nowhere to grow.  Both are staunch liberals.  Both are strong opponents of St. George.  Both are strong supporters of Kamala Harris.

Their appeal to white mostly Republican-leaning voters is minimal.

James’ white liberal supporters had a plan that might have worked. The plan was to play on white voters’ dissatisfaction with Broome and try to sell them on the idea that “Anyone is better than Sharon Weston Broome!”

The problem with that idea was that James is a far left liberal — even farther left than Mayor Broome.  Plus he would likely be in office for 12 years, while Broome is term limited to four years.

Then another problem emerged!

Enter the Wildcard!  

On the last day of qualifying, Coach Sid Edwards entered the race for Mayor-President as a Republican.

Coach Sid is one of the most beloved figures in the Baton Rouge area — a legendary football coach and school administrator whose following cuts across all racial and party lines.

Coach Sid is former NFL National Coach of the Year and former Louisiana 5A Coach of the Year.  He is the winningest coach in the Capital region and one of the most respected in the state.  Altogether, 24 head football coaches, mostly in the Baton Rouge area, have trained under him.  Tens of thousands of young people have been coached or mentored by Coach Sid in his 44-year coaching career.

The Republican Party has interviewed the candidates and given Edwards, who is currently Dean of Students and head football coach at Istrouma High School, its endorsement in the Nov. 5 primary.

He has emerged as the one and only Republican choice for Mayor-President.  

After 17 years as Athletic Director and head football coach at Central High, he is probably the most popular man in Central. He will likely emerge with 85 percent or more of the vote in Central.

Likewise, voters in the City of St. George have nothing but enmity for Broome and James, who have fought the incorporation of St. George and the proposed Southeast School District for the past 10 to 12 years. In all likelihood, Coach Sid will carry St. George with 80 percent of the vote.

His 10 years coaching at Catholic High and seven years at Redemptorist (including three state football championships) left Edwards with a significant following in Baton Rouge.

My crystal ball says Coach Sid runs strong among the 140,871 white Republican-leaning voters in the parish. 

What is unknown but significant is Coach Sid’s support in the black community.  While it is unlikely that any Democratic organization will support him, it is likely that thousands of individual black voters will.

Coach Sid coaches and is much loved at Istrouma High, the epicenter of North Baton Rouge. 

Sid’s popularity in the black community becomes clear when you follow the coach around.  At his recent speech to the Chamber of Commerce of EBR Parish, a former head coach at Grambling was there to support him, as were black business owners. At the Ronald Reagan Newsmaker Luncheon, several Democratic activists and a black pastor spoke out for him.  Many of his volunteers are black — former players and coaches who have come back to help him.  Coach Sid could easily gather 15 to 20 percent of the vote in the black community.

Republicans currently hold every parishwide office in East Baton Rouge Parish — Sheriff, Assessor, Clerk of Court, and Coroner.  All of those officials were either reelected or unopposed last fall.  

In fact, with the exception of Kip Holden and Sharon Weston Broome, no Democrat has been elected to parishwide office in East Baton Rouge Parish since Sid Gautreaux was elected Sheriff as a Democrat in 2007. He later switched to Republican.

Republicans also control seven of the 12 seats on the Metro Council and five of nine seats on the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board.  

Actually, East Baton Rouge Parish currently has more Republicans in public office than at any time in history. There is no sign whatsoever that the Republican Party is dying or going away here.

In November 2020, when voters last elected the Mayor-President, which was also at the same time as the Presidential election, the turnout was 70 percent.  In the December 2020 runoff, turnout was 34 percent.

Similar turnouts could be expected this year. 

But wait!

Proposition on Ballot 

In St. George on Dec. 7

In this year’s Dec. 7 runoff for Mayor-President, a proposition will be on the ballot only in the City of St. George, which could draw even more voters to the polls in this Republican bastion.

St. George will vote on transferring the 2 percent parish tax to the City of St. George.  

This is a do-or-die issue for St. George, because almost all funding for the city is dependent on the transfer of this tax.  As a result, voter turnout in St. George should be exceptionally high.  

That could only work to the advantage of the Republican candidate, Coach Sid Edwards.

The math of this race is pretty simple. Sharon and Ted are fighting for their share of 127,000 black votes, and neither of them have much crossover appeal.  Where will either get significant white support?  That question is still unanswered.

Meanwhile, Coach Sid is very likely to get the vast majority of 140,000 white Republican-leaning voters and enjoy significant crossover appeal.  

The result?  Sid Edwards runs a strong first Nov. 5 and wins Dec. 7 based on turnout and significant crossover voting.

In August 2024, the fundamentals of the race for Mayor-President look good for Coach Sid Edwards.