Poll: Cassidy up 15 points on Landrieu

Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) has opened up a 15-point lead over incumbent Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) in their runoff race, according to a new poll from conservative-leaning Rasmussen.

Cassidy takes 56 percent support in the poll to Landrieu’s 41.

{mosads}It’s the second poll released this week by a conservative outlet to show Cassidy with a double-digit lead. A Vox Populi poll released on Wednesday showed Cassidy with an 11-point lead.

The Rasmussen survey shows that Landrieu’s efforts to pass a bill authorizing the Keystone pipeline may have done little to sway voters in the energy-rich state.

While 70 percent of Louisiana voters strongly support building the pipeline, those same people favor Cassidy 78 percent to 20 percent over Landrieu. Among those who somewhat favor Keystone, Landrieu leads 54 percent to 40 percent, and she also leads big among those who oppose the pipeline.

A bill backed by Landrieu authorizing the controversial energy pipeline fell one vote short in the Senate. A similar measure offered by Cassidy in the House passed.

According to the survey, Landrieu’s biggest issue is that she doesn’t have strong backing from those in her own party. Only 76 percent of Louisiana Democrats say they support Landrieu, while 21 percent say they favor Cassidy.

Cassidy has almost universal support among Republicans in the state, at 92 percent. He also leads by 7 among independents.

The Rasmussen survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted between Nov. 16 and Nov. 19 and has a 3-point margin of error.