Elections in Louisiana—with the exception of U.S. Presidential and Congressional elections—follow a variation of the open primary system.

Sidney Barthelemy began the campaign under a cloud of declining popularity and questions surrounding his leadership.

He campaigned on his record, citing his role in spurring the beginnings of an economic recovery for New Orleans.

His campaign portrayed Barthelemy as an inattentive mayor better at distributing patronage than generating income.

Barthelemy, who received most of his support from white voters in the 1986 election, began stressing his record of achievements for the black community in order to compensate for the number of white supporters he expected to lose to Mintz.