Holden re-elected

• By SCOTT DYER
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Oct 5, 2008 - Page: 1A - UPDATED: 12:40 a.m. .

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Incumbent Mayor-President Kip Holden won re-election Saturday by nearly a 3-1 margin  over his three opponents Saturday. Voter turnout was 39 percent.

With all 314 precincts reporting, Holden had 75,450 votes, or 71 percent of the votes counted, according to complete and unofficial returns from the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office.

A Democrat who became Baton Rouge’s first black mayor in 2004, Holden had worked over the past four years to bridge racial and party lines.

On Saturday, Holden’s efforts paid off with a lopsided victory. 

“Tonight we sent a message across America that it’s not about Republicans and Democrats, it’s not about black or white. Tonight we came together as one Baton Rouge,” Holden said.

Running a distant second in the four-way scramble was former state Legislative Auditor Dan Kyle, a Republican who had 12 percent of the votes tallied.

Metro Councilman Wayne Carter, a Republican businessman, had 11 percent, while Democrat Ron Johnson, a former School Board member, had 6 percent.

This year’s mayoral  race was low-key by most standards, with Holden’s three opponents running low-budget campaigns that relied heavily on yard signs and forums.

Holden, by contrast, unleashed a series of slick television ads in the last few days, funded by his six-figure war chest.

According to the latest campaign finance reports on file, Holden had $351,511 in campaign funds as of Sept. 14, while his three opponents had a combined total of $14,410.

But the biggest splash of the campaign didn’t appear on any campaign finance reports.

A mysterious political mailer  appeared in thousands of East Baton Rouge Parish mailboxes in August, alleging that Holden had an affair with a white woman and was beaten by her husband.

The mailer, which was distributed under a false name, also alleged that some of Holden’s police bodyguards had objected to his extramarital activities, and asked to be reassigned.