From Mayor to President? It doesn’t happen. Mitch Landrieu was Mayor of New Orleans. From 2010 to 2018.
His father was mayor of New Orleans. His sister was US Senator for Louisiana. Mitch was Lt. Governor for Louisiana. Name recognition is not a problem.
New Orleans is a good sized city. In 2010 the population was 343,829. In 2000, the population was 484,674. A major cause of that decline was Hurricane Katrina in 2005. New Orlean’s population had been declining for a while. In 1970, it was just under 600,000 people and had been above 600,000 the decade before that.
The population changed. 55% of the people were white in 1970. 33% in 2010. 45% of the people were African American in 1970. 60% in 2010. Whites left as the black population grew. Blacks left after the hurricane which hurt the lowland low income areas the most.
The alternative newspaper, Vice, expresses disappointment with Landreiu’s tenure. They grant that Confederate statues could not have been taken down without his leadership. They do not recognize his eloquence or his encouragement of a conversation about race. The NY Times does that. Vice complains about gentrification in New Orleans and about Airbnb in New Orleans. That is a little like complaining that Landreiu did not hold back the tide. Vice complains about a consequence of gentrification. Under his watch, some topless clubs were raided and closed.
Some have encouraged his candidacy because of his leadership on race. He looked around, acknowledged the strong field that was developing, and said he would not run. He understood that you don’t go from mayor to president.