The election of Republican Sid Edwards as mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish was perhaps the most significant outcome of the Dec. 7 general election. Even so, the voter turnout there was only 35.7%. The voter turnout for the rest of the state was pathetic.

The Advocate said the name of Edwards “was barely a blip on the radar for Baton Rouge’s political insiders and city hall staff.” The former high school football coach said even he was surprised about his victory.

“I know a lot of people are in disbelief — none more than me,” Edwards told his supporters.

Election observers credit White swing voters for the victory and a plunge in turnout in majority-Black precincts that represented Sharon Weston Broome, the incumbent mayor-president.

Those Black voters helped elect Kip Holden, another Black Democrat who was mayor-president from 2005 to 2017 when Broome took office.

East Baton Rouge has 296,177 registered voters, 144,634 of them White and 131,604 of them Black.

John Couvillon, a Baton-Rouge based political analyst, said, “It’s kind of like everything clicked together for Coach Sid at the same time last night.”

Couvillon said virtually every White voter who voted for Ted James, a former Black legislator who lost in the primary, voted for Edwards.

“ … It’s really hard to escape any other conclusion than the fact that voters wanted things to change,” Couvillon said.

Edwards entered the race at the last minute and Mason Batts, his campaign manager, credits his team’s strong get-out-the-vote effort for his victory.

“I think our ground game made the difference. We knocked on over 25,000 doors,” Batts said. “That’s probably something no Republican candidate in this parish has ever done.”

Like Republican Gov. Jeff Landry who got 52% of the vote in 2023, Edwards got 57,308 of the 105,895 votes cast Saturday (54%). Those 57,308 votes mean Edwards was elected mayor-president with just over 19.3% of the parish’s 296,177 registered voters.

Bobby Ray Simpson was the last Republican to serve as East Baton Rouge mayor-president (2001-2005). Thomas “Tom Ed” McHugh was elected mayor president as a Democrat on Nov. 8, 1988, and served from 1989 to 2001.

McHugh became a Republican in 1995, the first Republican mayor since the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War.

Now, let’s look at some of those dismal voter turnouts in the major parishes.

The Calcasieu Parish turnout ranged from 4.5% to 10.6%. It was 6.2% to 51.2% in Caddo Parish. The 51.2% was in the village of Rodessa where a mayor was elected.

The turnout in Orleans parish ranged from 9.1% to 10%. It was 12.5% to 26.5% in Jefferson Parish. The 26.5% was on two propositions in the city of Harahan.

St. Tammany Parish had a turnout ranging from 6.8% to 26.1%. The 26.1% turnout was to elect an alderman for the town of Abita Springs. It was 6.3% to 19.1% in Lafayette Parish. The 19.1% was to elect the chief of police in Youngsville.

The Pew Research Center last January said Americans on the edge of politics are untethered from partisan politics and are uninterested in keeping up with political news.

Here is some of what the center found:

“While they acknowledge they could be more engaged with following politics, many say they have no desire to, or say it’s important to avoid the topic to protect their mental health.”

“Most are frustrated with the two parties. They often don’t feel represented by either party or feel that the parties are too extreme. And while some would prefer for there to be no parties at all, others wish there were more than two.”

Some said that there is too much fighting and not enough progress being made on issues that are important to everyday people.”

A Democratic man in his 50s said, “Originally the idea is that we vote for them, that they should act on behalf of the people. But once they all get in the office, it’s all about themselves. It’s never about us. Doesn’t matter what party.”

Finally, the situation we find ourselves in all too often:

An independent man in his 20s said, “I hate the fact that you’re forced to pick between the lesser of two evils when voting. No, I don’t want either of them. Next.”

Jim Beam, the retired editor of the American Press, has covered people and politics for more than six decades. Contact him at 337-515-8871 or jim.beam.press@gmail.com.