BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — It is less than a month away from the primary election, and now with two debates under their belts, pollsters are waiting for the numbers to change for those running for governor.
Things have remained much the same, with few varying points for different candidates. Some suggest part of the reason could be low voter interest.
“On the one hand, we’re all waiting for big things to happen and big breakthroughs and big things to cut loose. But they don’t seem to be happening,” said pollster Ron Faucheux.
Faucheux conducted a poll for Par Louisiana, the Urban League and a number of media outlets ahead of their gubernatorial debate earlier this month. His poll showed Attorney General Jeff Landry keeping a comfortable lead that he’s had for months — with other candidates struggling to skim off his support.
“Most of the candidate campaigns have failed to do what they wanted to do. I think their messaging is a bit off. I think they’ve had a struggle trying to figure out, you know, how to define themselves and their image,” Faucheux said.
Faucheux said past gubernatorial races would have a lot more give and take in the numbers leading up to election day depending on ads and how candidates performed in debates. But he’s run into people not being as interested in this governor’s race and already looking toward the presidential race in 2024.
“The race is turning out to be somewhat different than what we’ve seen in the past. And seems to be following more of a national model,” Faucheux said.
Landry sealing up the LAGOP and Trump endorsements early has set him as the main Republican candidate for a lot of voters that lean farther right, according to Faucheux.
“A candidate who can attract 30%-35%, we have Landry serving 36%, what you think of as the hard MAGA base in Louisiana,” Faucheux said.
Shawn Wilson also benefits from the state party support, but Faucheux’s poll shows he needs more name recognition.
“So Wilson gets 60% of the vote among Democrats, but only but only 35% of Democrats had ever heard of him,” Faucheux said.
He says there is still time for the other candidates to get a second wind and bump up in the polls. It would not be the first time candidates have shaken things up in the final days before the election.
The primary is set for Saturday, Oct. 14, and the general election will be on Saturday, Nov. 18.
