JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — There's no love lost between Joe Lopinto and John Fortunato.
In the previous election for Jefferson Parish sheriff, Lopinto emerged from a bitter race that many believed Fortunato could win. This time around, Fortunato is facing big hurdles.
"He doesn't have any of the infrastructure that he had last time. He had all the Mike Yenni administration support politically and financially. He had a public relations man with a record of winning and he had a lot of money. He doesn't have any of that this time," said Eyewitness News political analyst Clancy DuBos.
DuBos says while the number of homicides in Jefferson Parish this year has spiked since 2018, overall crime is remarkably low.
"Voters in Jefferson Parish, when it comes to crime, they're not fearful the way that other people are in some other parts of the metro area. So, I think that bodes well for Joe Lopinto," said DuBos.
The last time these two men faced off, it was in a special election last year after former sheriff Newell Normand resigned.
Lopinto got 52 percent of the vote. Fortunato got 48 percent. If he wants to come close to that number in this rematch, Fortunato has a lot of ground to cover, with very little money.
"If you're running against an incumbent you have to articulate a compelling reason to make a change. So, it's up to Fortunato to convince voters that something is wrong, something is broken and he can fix it," said DuBos.
Lopinto has been quick to remind that violent crime in the parish so far this year is down almost 20 percent and the rate of solving murders is at 88 percent. It'll be up to voters to decide if that needs any fixing.
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