The new KLFY Nexstar poll suggests incumbent Governor John Bel Edwards is not likely to pull off an outright win in the governor’s race.
When asked if the election for governor were held today, which candidate would you support? Results show John Bel Edwards leads with 43%, followed by Eddie Rispone with 21% and Ralph Abraham with a close 20%.
The undecided vote is 12%.
Those who are still undecided were asked which candidate are they leaning towards supporting.
45% went with John Bel Edwards, 21% chose Rispone, and Abraham was right behind with 20%. 8% were undecided.
John Couvillion conducted the latest poll with JMC Analytics and Polling. He says, “You kind of have two dimensions at the same time. Will there or won’t there be a runoff, and who the runoff opponent will be for Governor Edwards?”
Couvillion says Governor Edwards moderate campaign may cause him to pick up voters. 50% of those polled approved of his job performance, including 26 percent of the Republicans.
In fact, a quarter of Edwards’s own voters said they are going to vote for Jeff Landry in the Attorney General race. Landry called for voters to “Fire John Bel” just Monday.
“I can’t think of two people who are more diametrically opposed to each other, yet I think that is evidence of the fact that Governor Edwards has been peeling off some voters that he would not have gotten had he pursued a strict, partisan tact on his messaging”, said Couvillion.
The poll also asked where people would vote if a runoff happened between Edwards and either Abraham or Rispone.
Both showed governor Edwards with a ten or close to ten-point lead over his opponent, but the undecided vote is enough to override that.
Still, don’t take the poll as a sure thing. According to Couvillion, how many people turn out this weekend to support their candidate will ultimately decide the victor, “The ground game will make all the difference Saturday regardless of what the polls numbers are right now”.
We asked democrats and republicans in the area what key issues will cause them to vote one way or the other.
Kristina Garcia, supports Congressman Ralph Abraham. She said, “With our economy boosting right now, we definitely need to up our jobs in Louisiana, we really need to do that right now and I think Ralph Abraham can do that for our state.
Jeremy Humphrey, supports Governor Edwards, particularly the raises Edwards supported for teachers. “I think that education has to be the number one thing we need to pay attention to and have to craft, Humphrey said. “I think we need to move ahead with John and keep the momentum going”.
Election day is this Saturday. You can cast your votes when polls open at 7 A.M. Polls will close at 8 P.M.
