BATON ROUGE — A former state lawmaker challenging for mayor and president has topped campaign fundraising, according to state election records.
With six months left until the election, mayoral candidate Ted James leads the first round of financial reporting with $508,000 in contributions, followed by contributions from current Mayor and President Sharon Weston Bloom. The cost is $305,000. Candidates must report campaign contributions to the Louisiana Ethics Commission.
“That's enough for him to win a race against the incumbent,” said Roy Fletcher, a veteran political consultant. “It's clear that there are a significant number of people in need.”
James, who served in the state House of Representatives before joining the Small Business Administration, said he has not made any decisions at this point in the election season.
“I know it's going to be a very competitive race against an eight-year incumbent,” James said. “So we don't take this as an opportunity to get too excited and forget that this is going to be a very long race. I think it shows that we're not only doing it, but we're actively investing in it.”
Sharon Weston Bloom, also a Democrat, is running for a third term as mayor and president.
“Ted's swift departure from his long-held ideals and legislative record should be enough to make voters reconsider his true intentions,” Bloom said. “City Hall has never been put up for sale and never will be put up for sale to the highest bidder.”
Bloom's fundraising efforts have outpaced her performance in the past two elections, both of which she won. At this stage in 2016, she had collected over $114,000 for her. She made nearly $82,000 in 2020.
The next campaign finance report will be released in August, and the election will be held on November 5, 2024.
