Mayor Leads in Early New Orleans Returns

[Judi Lynn]

Mayor Leads in Early New Orleans Returns
By MICHELLE ROBERTS, Associated Press Writer

Saturday, April 22, 2006
(04-22) 19:05 PDT New Orleans (AP) --

Mayor Ray Nagin and a pair of challengers emerged from a crowded field in early returns from Saturday's first municipal election since Hurricane Katrina, a tricky experiment of modern-day democracy that gave scattered evacuees a say in this battered city's future.

With 4 percent of precincts reporting, Nagin led with 32 percent of the vote, followed by Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu with 30 percent and businessman Ron Forman with 21 percent. Nineteen others trailed far behind.

Unless one candidate gets 50 percent of the vote — a prospect that even Nagin considered to be unlikely — the top two vote-getters will compete in a May 20 runoff.
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/04/22/politics/p190548D59.DTL