Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu appears to have routed five major challengers in Saturday's mayoral primary, riding a sense of regret among voters who rejected him four years ago and extraordinary biracial support to claim a rare first-round victory.
With 90 of the city's 366 precincts counted, Landrieu had 64 percent of the vote. His closest challenger, businessman Troy Henry, had 15 percent.
When he takes office May 6, Landrieu will become the city's first white chief executive since his father, Moon Landrieu, left the job in 1978. Early analysis shows that Mitch Landrieu's victory owed to widespread crossover voting by African-Americans, who make up two-thirds of the city's residents.
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