Overview

• Voting concluded Oct. 11, and Michelle Woodfork said she won the sheriff's race in Orleans Parish.
• If the results are certified, Woodfork would replace incumbent Susan Hutson, who was elected in 2021 as the first woman to hold the post.
• Woodfork is a retired NOPD veteran and former interim superintendent who now consults for the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office.
• Hutson faced heightened scrutiny this year after 10 inmates escaped the parish jail in May and over broader concerns about jail conditions and communication.
• Polling and debates had highlighted Woodfork, Hutson and Constable Edwin Shorty Jr. as the leading contenders, with final certification still pending.