POLL: Louisiana governor’s race tight as runoff nears

BATON ROUGE, La. (KSLA) - An exclusive KSLA News 12 poll, days ahead of the Louisiana Gubernatorial runoff election, reveals incumbent Democrat John Bel Edwards with a slim lead over Republican Eddie Rispone.

The poll of 625 registered Louisiana voters shows Edwards with 48% support while Rispone has 46%.

6% say they are still undecided with less than a week to the November 16th election.

The race could come down to which candidate gets his voters to the polls and which candidate will win the support of Republican Ralph Abraham’s voters from the primary.

94% of those who voted for Edwards in the primary say they will back him again, while 92% of Rispone voters will support him.

85% of those who say they voted for Abraham in the primary indicate they will vote for Rispone while 10% will back Edwards.

When it comes to those who didn't vote in the primary and say they will vote in the runoff election, Edwards holds a 47% to 44% lead over Rispone.

While President Donald Trump has stumped in Louisiana for Rispone, the poll asked if you voted for Trump in the 2016 election who would you support in this race?

81% of Trump voters from 2016 say they will cast their vote for Rispone while 15% say they will cross party lines to vote for Edwards. 4% of those voters say they are undecided.

Support for Edwards is highest in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas with 56% and 55% respectively. Rispone’s strength is concentrated in South Central and Northern Louisiana where 57% and 54% respectively say they will vote Republican.

The vote is split along racial lines with 92% of black voters saying they will vote for Edwards with only 2% for Rispone. 66% of white voters choose Rispone with 28% behind Edwards.

When it comes to gender, more men prefer Rispone to Edwards 51% to 44%, while women give Edwards a nine-point advantage, 51% to 42%.

On the question of Edwards’ job performance as governor, 54% across the state say they approve while 38% disapprove.

When you break it down, it’s again split along party and race. 39% of white voters approve of Edwards’ performance while 53% disapprove and 8% say they were not sure. 88% of black voters approve while only 3% disapprove and 9% are not sure.

The poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy on behalf of the six Louisiana Gray Television stations, which includes KSLA, has a margin error of 4%.

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