From the Jones camp

Times reporter Alexandyr Kent is at Shreveport mayoral candidate Jerry Jones’ election night party.

Wife Carla led Jones into the LSUS ballroom around 8 p.m. The couple arrived to muted applause that grew louder, as if the crowd was acknowledging the hardship the family has faced in the last week with their 16-year-old daughter’s illness that has left her in the pediatric intensive care unit.

"That’s so cool!" Jones said about the applause. "I look around the room and I see all these people and they really reached out to us. This has really been a grass roots effort. … I want to walk around the room and let them know how much I appreciate them. When it’s all over I’ll be back at the hospital."

A chatty crowd of about 250 people worked their way through a long buffet spread, where cookies were consistently being replenished.

Four TVs in the corner are prepped to post the first returns.

Sue Cook, sitting next to her husband, was excited by the noise.

"I’m just thinking that I want it to hurry up and get it over. I want Jerry Jones to be our next mayor," she said.