Mitch Landrieu claims New Orleans mayor's office in a landslide election

Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, son of a former mayor and brother of a U.S. senator, 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 an unprecedented first-round landslide victory.

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.

Because of that disparity, Landrieu predicted recently that his election could be an "uneasy moment" for black residents who still feel politically and economically disenfranchised, On Saturday night, he addressed the issue head-on.

"The people of the city of New Orleans did a very extraordinary thing today," Landrieu said minutes after he entered to a "Who Dat!" chorus from the crowd gathered in a Roosevelt Hotel ballroom. "We decided that we were going to stick the pole in the ground and strike a blow for unity, strike a blow for a city that decided to be unified rather than divided, a city that understands that where there is equal opportunity, there is equal responsibility. It is a city that really understands that we are ready to move beyond and into the next generation." ...