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Orleans Parish District Attorney election, 2020
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| 2020 Orleans Parish elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: July 24, 2020 |
| Primary election: November 3, 2020 General election: December 5, 2020 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: District attorney, civil district courts, civil district court domestic sections, criminal district court, criminal district court magistrate, juvenile court, municipal and traffic court divisions, and constable |
| Total seats up: 35 |
| Election type: Partisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2020 |
Jason Williams (D) defeated Keva Landrum (D) in the general election for District Attorney of Orleans Parish on December 5, 2020. Williams received 57.8% of the vote, followed by Landrum with 42.2%.
Landrum and Williams advanced from the primary election on November 3, 2020. Landrum advanced from the primary with 34.8% of the vote and Williams advanced from the primary with 29.4% of the vote. Under Louisiana's majority-vote system, all candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate meets that threshold, the top two finishers, regardless of their partisan affiliations, advance to a second election in December. Arthur L. Hunter, Jr. (D) and Morris Reed Sr. (D) were defeated in the primary. They earned 27.7% of the vote and 8.1% of the vote, respectively.
Incumbent Leon Cannizzaro, who was first elected in 2008, declined to seek re-election, leaving the seat open for the first time in twelve years.
Landrum said she was running on the pillars of equity, justice, and transparency, and faulted the District Attorney's office for focusing on conviction rates and sentences instead of on reducing crime.[1] In an interview with WWL-TV, Landrum said, "I think it’s my experience and my integrity and my dedication to the people of New Orleans, I think that those things set me apart from my opponent."[2]
Williams said he was running to change a criminal justice system that wasn't working for the poor and disenfranchised. He said the District Attorney's office prioritized prosecutors over justice for victims, and accused Landrum of wanting to continue a tough-on-crime approach.[3][4]
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
California modified its absentee/mail-in and in-person voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:
- Absentee/mail-in voting: Mail-in ballots were sent to all registered voters in the general election.
- In-person voting: Counties were authorized to consolidate precincts and defer opening voting centers until the third day before the election.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.
General election
General election for Orleans Parish District Attorney
Jason Williams defeated Keva Landrum in the general election for Orleans Parish District Attorney on December 5, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jason Williams (D) | 57.8 | 41,564 |
 | Keva Landrum (D) | 42.2 | 30,325 | |
| Total votes: 71,889 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Orleans Parish District Attorney
Keva Landrum and Jason Williams defeated Arthur L. Hunter Jr. and Morris Reed Sr. in the primary for Orleans Parish District Attorney on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Keva Landrum (D) | 34.8 | 55,487 |
| ✔ | | Jason Williams (D) | 29.4 | 46,977 |
| Arthur L. Hunter Jr. (D) | 27.7 | 44,149 | ||
| Morris Reed Sr. (D) | 8.1 | 12,975 | ||
| Total votes: 159,588 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[5] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office:
- Chief Judge at Orleans Parish Criminal District Court (2018-2020)
- Judge, Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, Section E (2008-2018)
- Acting District Attorney, Orleans Parish (2007-2008)
Biography: Landrum received a bachelor's degree in political science from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and a law degree from Tulane Law School in New Orleans. She began working in the Orleans Parish District Attorney's office and became acting District Attorney in 2007. In 2008, she was elected to the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, Section E. In 2018, she was appointed Chief Judge at Orleans Parish District Court.
Show sources
This information was current as of the candidate's run for Orleans Parish District Attorney in 2020.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office:
- Judge, Criminal District Court (2003)
- At-large member of the New Orleans City Council in Louisiana (Assumed office: 2014)
Biography: Williams earned a bachelor's degree from Tulane University and a law degree from Tulane Law School. After graduating, he started a law practice that focused on criminal defense. The Louisiana Supreme Court appointed him to serve as a judge on the New Orleans' Criminal District Court. In 2008, he ran unsuccessfully for Orleans Parish District Attorney. He was elected to the New Orleans City Council in 2014, and re-elected in 2017.
Show sources
This information was current as of the candidate's run for Orleans Parish District Attorney in 2020.
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
If you are aware of polls conducted in this race, please email us.
Noteworthy endorsements
This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. It also includes a bulleted list of links to official lists of endorsements for any candidates who published that information on their campaign websites. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please click here.
| Noteworthy endorsements | ||||||
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| Endorsement | Landrum | Williams | ||||
| Newspapers and editorials | ||||||
| The Advocate[6] | ✔ | |||||
| Elected officials | ||||||
| State Senator Karen Peterson (D)[7] | ✔ | |||||
| New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell (D)[8] | ✔ | |||||
| State Senator Troy Carter (D)[9] | ✔ | |||||
| State Representative Royce Duplessis (D)[10] | ✔ | |||||
| New Orleans City Council member Helena Moreno (D)[11] | ✔ | |||||
| Individuals | ||||||
| Former state Representative Cameron Henry (R) [12] | ✔ | |||||
Campaign advertisements
This section shows advertisements released in this race. Ads released by campaigns and, if applicable, satellite groups are embedded or linked below. If you are aware of advertisements that should be included, please email us.
Keva Landrum
Supporting Landrum
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Opposing Williams
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Jason Williams
Supporting Williams
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Opposing Landrum
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Campaign themes
- See also: Campaign themes
Keva Landrum
Campaign website
Landrum’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Equity
Bail Reform
Ending Mass Incarceration
As District Attorney, Keva will work with agencies, non-profits, advocates and community partners to build a system that works for everyone. Justice
Support for Victims and Witnesses
Combating police misconduct
As District Attorney, Keva will achieve justice on behalf of victims and their families and protect our community against injustice. Accountability
Transparency
Fairness
As District Attorney, Keva Landrum will ensure her office is run professionally, honestly and with an eye towards building a better city for the people of New Orleans [13] |
” |
Jason Williams
Campaign website
Williams’s campaign website stated the following:
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Leading the charge for justice The District Attorney’s Office has been guided by a win-at-all-cost culture that prioritizes high conviction rates, artificially set high screening acceptance rates and harsh sentencing over more effective approaches that are proven to reduce crime. As District Attorney, Jason will replace a culture that seeks victory for prosecutors with a culture that seeks justice for victims.
As Chair of the City Council Criminal Justice Committee, Jason has led the fight against the current DA and his regressive and abusive policies. For more than 20 years Jason has been speaking truth to power and fighting for the rights of the people of this city. He will continue to press that case as District Attorney. Stand up to police misconduct
Abuses of authority by those crowned with the public trust are far too common, and have been consistently ignored by the current District Attorney. As NOPD leadership has realized in the wake of the current federal consent decree, outside pressure can improve both the culture and policies of local law enforcement.
The current DA commits to accepting at least 90% of cases that come across his desk. With this, he essentially commits to accepting and prosecuting a number of bad cases involving improper or unconstitutional arrests, thereby encouraging and endorsing a culture of bad behavior that he is legally sworn to fight. This very pattern of blind case acceptance is often a gateway for even more outrageous law enforcement behavior. End Mass Incarceration
Other District Attorneys throughout the state typically prosecute 60 to 75% of cases forwarded to them, using a robust screening process to weed out legally insufficient or frivolous cases in the interest of justice. The current DA, however, has set a quota of accepting and prosecuting over 90% of them. In doing so, he shirks his responsibility to guard public trust and resources. Not only does this overburden the courts and delay trials, but it is the number one driver that makes our city and state the most incarcerated places in America. The current DA's over-prosecution is based on the misguided belief that the more we prosecute, the safer we are. His win-at-all-cost toxic culture has not made us safer, but it has made New Orleans the national leader of exonerations by wrongfully convicting innocent men.
Rebuild Public Trust
Treat all victims with respect and sensitivity Current District Attorney Cannizzaro has failed to prioritize the real needs of victims. The response to violence should be centered on the needs of survivors, based on accountability, and developed in consultation with victim advocates and experts.
Protect immigrants while protecting everybody We have a moral obligation to protect all of our residents. On the City Council, Jason fought President Trump’s anti-immigration agenda and built trust between immigrants and our municipal government.
Be transparent During Jason's tenure on the City Council, he pushed for use of technology and data to enhance the lives of New Orleanians. Jason established the first of their kind, public-facing dashboards to track neighborhood crime trends, track police incidents of misconduct, jail population, money bail, traffic camera tickets and local COVID-19 spread. These dashboards were posted to the City Council website and provided residents 24 hour access to updates on what was occurring in their city from the comfort of their homes. Transparency will be the cornerstone of the DA's office just as it was during Jason's tenure on the Council.
Create a civil rights division to confront the sins of the past If we want all the people of New Orleans to believe in our laws and courts, we must acknowledge the pain and havoc our criminal legal system has wrought in our poor and black communities.
Disrupt the school to prison pipeline
The overwhelming majority of justice system-involved youth have been exposed to victimization and other childhood adversities. Up to 33% have developed PTSD. The jailing of juveniles causes additional trauma that will further reduce their opportunities to become productive members of society. Thus, it is important to look to the root causes of juveniles acting out and provide services based on a comprehensive assessment of needs.
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About the county
- See also: New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a city in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. As of 2020, its population was 383,997.
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of New Orleans uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body, while the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for New Orleans, Louisiana | ||
|---|---|---|
| New Orleans | Louisiana | |
| Population | 383,997 | 4,657,757 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 169 | 43,210 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 33.4% | 61.2% |
| Black/African American | 59.2% | 32.2% |
| Asian | 2.9% | 1.7% |
| Native American | 0.2% | 0.6% |
| Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% |
| Other (single race) | N/A | 1.6% |
| Multiple | 2.6% | 2.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 5.5% | 5.2% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 87.7% | 85.9% |
| College graduation rate | 38% | 24.9% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $43,258 | $50,800 |
| Persons below poverty level | 23% | 18.6% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
There are no Pivot Counties in Louisiana. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
See also
| Orleans Parish, Louisiana | Louisiana | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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Footnotes
- ↑ Keva Landrum 2020 campaign website, "Priorities," accessed December 1, 2020
- ↑ WWL-TV, "Landrum, Williams both promise to reform DA's office as runoff begins," November 4, 2020
- ↑ Jason Williams 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed December 1, 2020
- ↑ WWL-TV, "Landrum, Williams both promise to reform DA's office as runoff begins," November 4, 2020
- ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
- ↑ The Advocate, "Our Views: The Times-Picayune's endorsements for DA, Supreme Court, and school board," October 15, 2020
- ↑ Keva Landrum, "Keva TV," accessed November 24, 2020
- ↑ NOLA, "New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell endorses Keva Landrum for DA," October 8, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, "Keva Landrum on Twitter," accessed November 24, 2020
- ↑ Facebook, "Jason Williams on Facebook," accessed November 24, 2020
- ↑ Facebook, "Jason Williams on Facebook," accessed November 24, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, "Keva Landrum on Twitter," accessed November 24, 2020
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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