Looming Impacts of Louisiana Population Loss & Hunter Drops Out Of NOLA Mayor's Race

Live from Canada, Christopher joints Hy from the middle of the St. Lawrence River, traveling down the waterways of historic “New France”. He talks about visiting the original home of Charles LeMoyne and how Montreal was the parent of New Orleans.
We also talk about the looming loss of a congressional seat, and the fact that the loss of population is not only causing that possibility, but our real economic problems. In 2024, just over 52,000 babies were born in Louisiana, according to preliminary data. That’s a 17% drop from 2013, when more than 63,000 births were recorded. It's the lowest number of births the state has seen in decades. The decline began gradually around 2015 but has accelerated in recent years. While fertility rates are falling across the country, Louisiana’s trend is amplified by a loss of women in their reproductive years. From 2013 to 2023, the number of women aged 15 to 44 in Louisiana fell by more than 29,000, a 3.1% decline. Nationally, that group grew by nearly 5%.
We then turn to the New Orleans Mayor’s Race. Judge Arthur Hunter exited the New Orleans mayor’s race and endorsed state Sen. Royce Duplessis on August 7. If Hunter’s supporters transfer to Duplessis, the state senator is heading for a runoff slot, likely facing City Council Vice President Helena Moreno.
Huey Long had a strategy when he campaigned. He would come to a town and ask one of his local supporters who was the most powerful person in that town. They might reply, for example, Mr. Smith. Huey would then get on his proverbial soapbox, and he would begin to rail against Mr. Smith. He would talk about the damage that Mr. Smith was doing, and how the people had to rise up against Mr. Smith.
His supporters would exclaim, “You can’t attack Mr. Smith like that!”
Huey would reply, “If Mr. Smith is the most powerful person in town, that means there’s a lot of people who don’t like Mr. Smith.”
It’s a strategy that Duplessis has been employing as he attempts to skyrocket in the polls past Councilman Oliver Thomas and into the runoff. The issue which the state senator chose, governmental dysfunction over trash collection in the French Quarter and negotiations over Cantrell’s contract with Henry Consulting, may be problematic. However, it has helped him rise in the polls, and earn a very valuable endorsement from Hunter.
Read more in Christopher‘s column in the current edition of The Louisiana Weekly