In a head-to-head matchup, Rep. Bill Cassidy has an edge on incumbent Sen. Mary Landrieu, according to a new poll by USA Today/Suffolk University. Still, the poll indicates a runoff is likely in the heated race.
When the 500 likely Louisiana voters were asked who they will support in the Nov. 4 general election, 36% said Landrieu, 35% said Cassidy, 11% said Rob Maness and 14% said they’re undecided. All eight Senate candidates appearing on the ballot were included in the poll. If none of them gets 50% of the vote in the general election, the top two candidates will appear on the December runoff ballot.
In a theoretical head-to-head matchup between Cassidy and Landrieu, the poll shows Cassidy leading 48% to 41%, with 11% saying they’re still undecided.
Among other interesting takeaways from the poll, which was conducted in association with The Advertiser and WWL-TV, it shows how voters are feeling about the 2015 Louisiana governor’s race, the Common Core education standards and hydraulic fracking.
In the 2015 governor’s race, respondents are thus far favoring Sen. David Vitter. Roughly 32% said they’re leaning toward the Republican, while 23% said they like Democratic New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who has not announced a run for the state’s top seat. Among the announced candidates aside from Vitter, Republican Scott Angelle is at 3% in the poll, while Jay Dardenne is at 10%. Democrat John Bel Edwards is at 4%. The poll shows 28% of voters undecided at this point.
On the controversial Common Core standards, 26% said they support them in Louisiana classrooms, while 53% said they do not support them and 20% said they are undecided. As for whether or not they support oil and gas production via hydraulic fracking, 48% said they do, while 27% said they do not and 25% are undecided. The poll also included questions about the Ebola crisis, the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion. See the complete poll results. —Steve Sanoski
