BATON ROUGE - For the East Baton Rouge Mayor-President race, incumbent Sharon Weston Broome and Republican challenger Sid Edwards are preparing for the runoff and are expecting challenges like keeping voters energized for the polls and gathering support from those who did not vote for them in the general election like Ted James' supporters.

"The regular game is over and we're now into overtime," Edwards said.

"We have a very short window," Broome said.

Edwards said another focus point of his is spreading his name and securing more campaign dollars to rival Broome's funding.

"Money is important because that equals resources and getting the word out, but I don't completely believe I need that kind of money," Edwards said.

Edwards said he is preparing for 18 to 20-hour long days.

"We don't have as much time, so time is going to be of the essence, so it's going to be boots on the ground, getting out there and reaching people who don't know us, don't know what we're about," Edwards said.

For Broome, she knows keeping people excited for the election is key.

"We had a very intense campaign, we talked to as many people as possible, we had a plethora of forums to give folks an opportunity to hear our platforms and views, I'm going to continue to do that," Broome said.

In past elections, turnout has been lower for run-offs than the general election.

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State website, in 2020, more than 205,000 people voted in East Baton Rouge for the general election in November. For the December run-off, only around 115,000 votes were cast.

While Edwards said he is undecided about asking Ted James for an endorsement, he is planning to reach out to James' backers.

"We very well may. I would hope that we would get some support from that side," Edwards said.

Broome said she will be reaching out to the supporters of James and other candidates.

"I look forward to reaching out to the supporters of my opponents to share more of my plans for the future, I welcome them to join my team," Broome said.

Broome added she plans to continue conversations with James. When asked whether she would ask James for his endorsement, she said, "Absolutely."

At the time of this article, Ted James' team declined to comment.