NJ, New Orleans Races Highlight Taxes, Turnout

New Orleans voters are set to head to the polls Saturday in a mayoral primary in which analyst Ron Faucheux says Helena Moreno holds a commanding lead but warned that low and unpredictable turnout and voter demographics could still sway the outcome; the next mayor will face urgent city service and governance challenges. In New Jersey’s competitive governor’s race a month before Election Day, Rep. Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli are trading attacks over taxes. Sherrill’s campaign has branded Ciattarelli 'high tax Jack' after a running-mate remark, while Ciattarelli insists he would not raise taxes and pledges cuts to income and property taxes. The national government shutdown has become a campaign flashpoint after the administration froze roughly $16–18 billion in Gateway/Hudson Tunnel funding, with Sherrill blaming the administration and vowing to fight for the project while Ciattarelli blames Sherrill for opposing stopgap funding and says she 'owns' the shutdown. Polling in the New Jersey race is mixed and tightening, leaving taxes, affordability and stalled infrastructure as central issues shaping both campaigns in the closing weeks before Election Day.