11 August 2025
By Katie Jane Fernelius and Aliana Mediratta
Contributing Writers
(Veritenews.org) — New Orleans mayoral candidate Arthur Hunter announced Thursday (Aug. 7) that he will be dropping out of the race and endorsing one of his opponents, state Sen. Royce Duplessis.
“Don’t vote for me. Vote for Royce Duplessis,” Hunter said at a press conference announcing his decision. “But let me be very clear: I’m stepping out of the race, but I’m not stepping away. … I’ll still be here, side by side with Royce.”
For months, the mayoral race was assumed to be a three-way contest between New Orleans City Councilmembers Helena Moreno and Oliver Thomas and former Criminal Court Judge Hunter – with Hunter placing third in available polling data.
Retired judge Arthur Hunter, left, and State Sen. Royce Duplessis
Photo courtesy of Verite News
But weeks after Duplessis entered the race, a July poll found that Hunter fell to fourth with just 5 percent support. That was nearly ten percentage points behind Duplessis, his closest competition, who had 14 percent support — just behind Thomas’ 16 percent.
In the money race, campaign finance reports show that Hunter has raised $235,000 since the beginning of the year, compared to $166,000 for the Duplessis campaign. Though Duplessis has raised less money this year, he didn’t formally announce his candidacy until late June. His receipts include $19,000 he raised over just two days shortly after the announcement.
Thus far, Moreno has remained the clear lead in the race, in both polling and fundraising, with 47 percent support in the July poll and more than $1.3 million in campaign contributions since the beginning of the year.
Hunter said that he will turn his attention to helping get Duplessis elected.
“Over the last few days, Royce Duplessis and I have stood on stage together… at forums, community events and neighborhood meetings, and time and time again, we heard ourselves echoing each other,” Hunter said. “We share the same vision for our city.”
Duplessis, who spoke after Hunter, lauded the judge for standing with him .
“Today, Judge Hunter is making an extraordinary and selfless decision to end his campaign and join this movement to build a stronger, safer and more united New Orleans,” Duplessis said. “This is not politics as usual. This is leadership.”
Political analyst and Dillard University professor Dr. Robert Collins said that he is not convinced that Hunter’s decision to exit the race and endorse Duplessis will prove to be that impactful because Hunter was trailing in the polls and his fundraising was slowing.
“There are two issues,” Collins told Verite News. “Number one, he didn’t have a lot of the vote to begin with. And number two, generally speaking, these endorsements don’t really mean that much; voters make up their own minds. Now that being said, it doesn’t hurt – and you certainly prefer to have the endorsement of a campaign that drops out.”
Still, Collins said, at the moment every campaign except Moreno’s is fighting to place second in the October election – then getting a chance to face her one-on-one in the November runoff.
“The expectation is that Helena Moreno is going to come first, so basically everybody is competing to get into the run-off with her,” Collins said.
Asked for comment, Moreno’s campaign manager said that the announcement does not change the candidate’s approach or shift her campaign’s focus.
“Our only focus is earning the vote and support of the people of New Orleans,” Renee Lapeyrolerie said.
Speaking through a campaign aide, Thomas declined to comment.
Despite his announcement, Hunter remains a mayoral candidate as far as the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office is concerned. Because he missed the state’s mid-July withdrawal deadline, his name will still appear on the Oct. 11 ballot.
Hunter is a familiar face in the New Orleans political scene. A former New Orleans Police Department officer, he was later elected judge in the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court. As a judge, Hunter was known for his work advocating and creating programs to support mental health and re-entry.
After retiring in early 2020 after 23 years on the bench, he ran for Orleans Parish District Attorney that fall, coming in third with 27.7 percent of the vote in the primary election. Most recently, he launched the Orleans Career Project at Delgado Community College, which provides education and career training to residents.
The 2025 New Orleans municipal election – which includes the mayoral race as well as races for City Council and Orleans Parish Sheriff, among others – will take place on Oct. 11. For races in which no candidate receives a majority of the vote, a runoff election is scheduled for Nov. 15. Read Verite News’ 2025 Election Guide for more on the upcoming election.
This article originally published in the August 11, 2025 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.