Plus: Meet the next CEO of the Regional Transit Authority

By Blake Paterson | October 28, 2026

Welcome back to Perdido Street. If you’re a new subscriber, make sure to check out yesterday’s newsletter, which had an exclusive on Essence Fest’s future in New Orleans. Now, onto the news.

More votes were cast during early voting in the 2026 midterm election than any other non-presidential election in Louisiana’s history.

Of the nearly 521,000 voters who went to the polls, around 34% were Black — a massive turnout that suggests Louisiana’s Senate contest could be in play for Democrats.

“This is going to be a more competitive Senate race than people think,” John Couvillon, with Baton Rouge-based JMC Analytics and Polling, told Perdido Street.

“Rarely does Black early voting as a percentage of the whole go above 30 percent,” he added.

The contest between Republican Congresswoman Julia Letlow and Democrat Jamie Davis, a farmer and former Tensas Parish police juror, is already drawing national attention.

On Tuesday, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg rallied voters outside New Orleans City Hall alongside New Orleanian and actor Wendell Pierce, Congressman Troy Carter and Davis. “We’re going to vote in record numbers,” Carter told the crowd.

During the seven days of early voting that ended Tuesday, Democrats outvoted Republicans 42% to 39%.

Early voting in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish increased by 73% compared to the 2022 midterms. In St. Tammany Parish, which skews more Republican, turnout increased by 43%

“That to me is a signal of Democratic enthusiasm,” Couvillon said. “Orleans and Jefferson are punching above their weight.” 

Polls from Hart Research Associates in September and Public Policy Polling in July showed Davis trailing Letlow by four points. (Both polls were commissioned by the Davis campaign.)

In the most recent fundraising reports, Davis outraised Letlow 3-1, with 90% of his donations coming from individual donors, according to The Lens.

At Tuesday’s rally, Carter credited Davis with expanding Democrats’ reach in ruby-red Louisiana, which Donald Trump won in 2024 by 22 points.

“He’s traveled all over this state and he’s talked to people in areas we’ve never been invited to talk to before. That’s why his numbers are so high,” Carter said. “That’s why they’re scared.”

Letlow, a third-term congresswoman, marshaled an endorsement from President Donald Trump to a secure a victory in the Republican primary over incumbent U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming.

Neither Cassidy nor Fleming has endorsed Letlow. Couvillon said the “Republican disunity” parallels the 2015 gubernatorial race that saw Democrat John Bel Edwards get elected. (Davis, for his part, hired one of his primary opponents, Nick Albares, to his campaign and has been endorsed by the other, Gary Crockett.)

So far, Letlow has kept a low profile on the campaign trail, largely sticking to private events in closed-door settings. She’s declined to debate Davis and also hasn’t made herself widely accessible to the press, according to The Times-Picayune. (Letlow’s campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment.)

Davis hasn’t shied away from the public. (He’s holding a campaign event tonight at NOLA Brewery from 6pm to 9pm.)

At Tuesday’s rally, he recalled meeting a student at LSU who said she couldn’t get a student loan because of cuts to the Department of Education. Davis called Carter, who helped the student get a full ride.

“The moral of the story is, when you’re a candidate and you move around to see the people, you end up being able to help your people,” he said. “If I was just a candidate that only went to private meetings…do I find a student that needs help?”

Davis’s message to voters has focused on concerns over affordability and rising prices driven by Republican support for the Iran war and tariff policies.

“How tired are you of paying high grocery prices? For nothing. All because some orange man decides that he wants to sign a piece of paper to take us into a so-called conflict,” he said Tuesday.

His campaign has also highlighted questions around Letlow’s stock trades, after a Gulf States Newsroom investigation found Letlow signed an NDA with Meta, then bought stock in the company before its deal to build a massive data center in Louisiana was publicly announced.(A spokesperson for Letlow told the outlet that she has no involvement in her stock portfolio but declined to make her available for an interview.)

At a recent campaign event, Letlow was asked about the NDA by WRKF reporter Brooke Thorington. She refused to answer the question.

“I’m not here to talk about state politics,” Letlow said. “I’m running in a federal race, and I’ll talk about federal issues.

Election Day is Nov. 3. Click here to find your polling location.

The incoming CEO at New Orleans’ public transit agency has put staff on notice: step up or risk losing your job.

Justin Augustine III was selected Tuesday to lead the Regional Transit Authority. At a forum Monday, he promised to clean house if he got the top job.

“Every employee better feel the way I feel and commit themselves to this organization to do the right thing. Because if you don’t, you’re not going to be there,” Augustine said.

“I want you to survive, but you have to want to survive,” he added.

The New Orleans native joined the RTA in 1983 as its director of internal audit and spent 12 years at the agency, eventually becoming its general manager. He later went on to work in Austin and South Africa, before returning to New Orleans to rebuild the RTA following Hurricane Katrina under the private management of Transdev. He left the RTA in 2019, shortly before the agency severed ties with the private firm.

At Monday’s forum, hosted by Ride New Orleans, Committee for a Better New Orleans and City Hall, Augustine gave a preview of his plans for the agency.

Augustine said he wants to send RTA staff into schools to “teach kids how to ride public transportation”; expand service into Jefferson Parish and St. Bernard Parish; and introduce a new “easy bus” service that allows riders to schedule bus pick-ups.

He won’t to take over as CEO until the board approves his contract, likely at its Nov. 17 meeting.

Click here to read the full run-down on Augustine’s plans

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