Survey: More Louisianans believe state is on track

The percentage of Louisianans who say the state is heading in the right direction jumped to 47% on the 2012 Louisiana Survey by LSU’s Public Policy Research Lab. That’s up from 41% a year ago, and is the first increase since 2008, when 51% of those surveyed said the state was heading in the right direction. However, the survey also found perceptions about the direction of the state vary widely by race, sex and party affiliation. For example:
• 53% of white respondents say the state is headed in the right direction, compared to 34% of black respondents;
• 53% of men compared to 41% of women say the state is heading in the right direction;
• 56% of Republicans say the state is headed in the right direction, compared to 37% of Democrats.
When it comes to the state and national economy, most residents do not think things are better compared to a year ago, though fewer people in the 2012 survey said conditions have gotten worse during the past year. Since 2011, the percentage of respondents saying state business conditions have gotten worse has declined from 40% to 28%. And since 2009, those saying national business conditions have gotten worse have decreased in number by 44 percentage points. This does not, however, mean that respondents believe state business conditions are necessarily improving; in fact, most respondents think things at the state level are merely stabilizing. Sponsored by LSU’s Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs, the Louisiana Survey aims to serve as a barometer of statewide public opinion. The overall survey included 731 randomly selected respondents, who were polled via phone. The 2012 Louisiana Survey results are being broken out into several sections and will be released throughout this month and April. Complete survey details, results and methodology can be found here.