In a city dominated by Democratic politics, fissures among rivals must find new places to form other than party lines: a fact brought into high relief this week with two major endorsements in the mayoral race.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu can tout support from President Barack Obama, the top elected Democrat in the nation. But his chief opponent, Michael Bagneris, gained prodigious backing among New Orleans’ Democratic leaders Wednesday. So how will the split between the party’s national leaders and its local powerbrokers influence an electorate that is 64 percent registered Democrats but voted by more than 80 percent for the president in the 2012 election?

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