Louisiana polls: Democratic governor leads GOP challengers by double digits

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) leads his GOP opponents by double digits five days before the state’s “jungle primary,” according to two polls released Monday.

A Gray Television survey shows the governor with the support of 45 percent of those planning to vote on Saturday. His closest GOP opponents, businessman Eddie Rispone and Rep. Ralph Abraham (La.), earned 22 percent and 17 percent support, respectively. Ten percent of respondents were undecided. 

Edwards would need to secure more than 50 percent of the vote on Saturday to avoid a runoff with the second-place finisher.

{mosads}Another poll from JMC Analytics and Polling found 45 percent of voters supported the incumbent, while 20 percent backed Rispone and 19 percent endorsed Abraham. About 14 percent of respondents in that survey were undecided. 

The Gray Television poll found respondents supported the incumbent in both theoretical run-off elections against the two GOP candidates, receiving 51 percent against Rispone and 53 percent against Abraham.

Edwards is presently the only Democratic governor in the Deep South.

Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy conducted the poll on behalf of the six Louisiana Gray Television stations. The poll surveyed 625 registered voters who said they were likely to vote in the election between Oct. 1 and 4. Its margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points. 

The JMC poll interviewed 600 people between Oct. 3 and 5. The survey also had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.