Helena Moreno will be New Orleans' next mayor after securing an outright victory in Saturday's municipal primary, WWL-TV has projected, capping a campaign that marshaled a diverse coalition despite a flurry of attacks from opponents in the race's final weeks.

Moreno, 48, becomes the second woman to win New Orleans' top office and the first Hispanic person to earn that title. She will succeed Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who is set to depart office due to term limits in January following a scandal-ridden second term.

Months of polling projected that Moreno would secure between 47% and 51% of the vote on primary night. That put her on a knife-edge to exceed the 50% needed to win outright and avoid a November runoff, which would've scrambled the race's dynamics .

The contest's consensus f

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