We Ask America puts the Governor’s race run-off at a 47% to 47% dead heat between John Bel Edwards and Eddie Rispone with less than a month remaining until voters hit the polls.
Pollster Andrew Weissert says Rispone’s campaign has to be happy with the results here. He says it didn’t take long for him to consolidate the GOP vote.
“There was some concern about bad blood was going to spill over post-primary after things got a little nasty, but Rispone is getting 85% of former Abraham voters,” says Weissert.
Rispone has a 49% favorable rating, and a 38% unfavorable rating with voters.
Edwards ended the primary with 47% of the vote, and Weissert says his lack of gains point towards a troubling sign that his support may be capped out.
“He was kind of stuck in that mid 40% range all year,” says Weissert. “In September we showed him at 47%, and he ended up at 46.6% in the primary.”
Despite his lack of electoral support, Edwards remains a popular figure with a 55% approval rating and a 39% disapproval rating.
Weissert says the deciding factor may be out of the hands of both campaigns. The Pollster says with a 59 percent job approval rating, this race may be President Trump’s to decide.
“His rally pre-primary really, really helped keep Edwards under 50%, so if he returns here in the run-off it’s going to be a big boost for Rispone,” says Weissert.
Trump’s plus +23% net approval in the state is far higher than Edwards’ +16%, or Rispone’s +11% net.