As the federal indictment of Mayor LaToya Cantrell grabbed the attention of New Orleans this week, the race to elect Cantrell's successor heated up, with a new poll showing Helena Moreno maintaining a wide lead and attacks starting to fly at the frontrunner.

The poll from WWL Louisiana , which was conducted by New Orleans-based Faucheux Strategies, shows Moreno, the City Council vice president, was supported by 47% of 600 registered voters polled between Aug. 8 and Aug. 14.

That’s the same percentage of support Moreno secured in a pair of polls by analyst Ron Faucheux earlier this year, an indication that the New Orleans City Council Vice President, who launched her campaign in December and has dominated the fundraising circuit, remains the person to beat.

But in a shift, state Se

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