Landrieu was elected mayor of New Orleans in the election of 1970 to succeed fellow Democrat Victor Schiro. His opponent in the Democratic primary runoff was Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Jimmy Fitzmorris. Landrieu won by assembling a coalition comprising 90 percent of black voters and 39 percent of whites. Perennial candidate Addison Roswell Thompson, the operator of a taxicab stand and a member of the Ku Klux Klan, also ran again for mayor in the Democratic primary, but polled negligible support. In the general election, Landrieu defeated Ben C. Toledano. In that contest, Landrieu received 99 percent support from black voters.