*This post originally appeared on the Louisiana First Standard substack

As a resident of Jefferson Parish, I am not always keyed in on Baton Rouge local politics. However, Baton Rouge may have the most important election this year in the state of Louisiana. Baton Rouge’s Mayor-President election is going to be a hotly-contested race that will determine the future of East Baton Rouge-parish and the City of Baton Rouge.

Nine candidates have qualified for this election— such as Democratic incumbent Sharon Weston-Broome and former state rep Ted James. Besides these two Democratic candidates, one “Louisiana First” Republican candidate stepped up to the plate to run for this election: Coach Sidney Edwards.

For those who don’t know him, Sid Edwards is a longtime head football coach in the Baton Rouge area, with stops at Redemptorist High, Central High, and Istrouma High School.

With four decades of football coaching experience, Coach Sid Edwards is ready to take on the political arena and save Baton Rouge from “Louisiana Last” candidates like Democrats Sharon Weston-Broome and Ted James.

Why did Sid Edwards decide to run for office? His reason: crime. St George Leader editor Woody Jenkins published an interesting article here that included a quote from Edwards about why he is running for office:

“I have devoted 44 years to helping tens of thousands of young people in this parish — helping them grow up and live safe, happy, productive lives. Years ago, I gave up on politics as too corrupt and evil. I devoted myself to the kids and became totally apolitical.

However, something happened earlier this year that changed my attitude about politics. I had a ninth grader on our football team who was extraordinary. He was my starting cornerback as a ninth grader, which is unusual. He had a 4.0 average and scored a 22 on the ACT in the 8th grade. He had the potential for a bright future ahead. He had a good Christmas last December. Then on New Year’s Day, he and four kids were gunned down on Evangeline Street in gang violence. My guy died.

It made me realize I have to get involved in politics in a big way and replace the leadership in this city. When the lack of political leadership is killing my boys, I will fight back, and that’s what I’m doing.” —St George Leader

Sid Edwards’s story is a rare case of a local community leader willing to risk everything and run for public office. His courage and viability as a candidate led the local Baton Rouge Republican party to endorse his candidacy for East Baton Rouge’s Mayor-President contest.

Edwards’s common-sense, Republican views are just what East Baton Rouge Parish area could use. As Scott McKay has pointed out here on The Hayride recently, Baton Rouge has unfortunately undergone an marked decline over the past few decades. In fact, Baton Rouge had one of the highest murder rates in the country between 2020 and 2022.

Here is Sid Edwards’s policy platform for those who are interested:

1. All-out attack on crime – Make our city safe – Improve parish jail
2. Make our parish beautiful – Eliminate blight, homelessness
3. Improve infrastructure – Break the traffic gridlock
4. Economic Development – Do 1, 2, and 3 and you create a place where business wants to invest and grow

The good news is that Coach Sid Edwards has a solid chance of winning the Democrat-leaning/swing parish. According to former politico and writer Woody Jenkins, Sid Edwards will likely make a runoff against either one of the top two major Democratic candidates in the race— either Sharon Weston-Broome or Ted James.

Here is a general breakdown of this election according to Woody Jenkins:

The math of this race is pretty simple. Sharon and Ted are fighting for their share of 127,000 black votes, and neither of them have much crossover appeal.  Where will either get significant white support?  That question is still unanswered.

Meanwhile, Coach Sid is very likely to get the vast majority of 140,000 white Republican-leaning voters and enjoy significant crossover appeal.

The result?  Sid Edwards runs a strong first Nov. 5 and wins Dec. 7 based on turnout and significant crossover voting.

In August 2024, the fundamentals of the race for Mayor-President look good for Coach Sid Edwards.

As long as Sid Edwards runs a solid campaign, then I firmly believe that he has a solid chance of winning due to his name recognition and popularity in Baton Rouge.

If you want to learn more about this solid candidate, then please look at Coach Sid Edwards’s website sidforthewin.com!

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