Now that the Midterm elections are behind us – save for a pair of U.S. House runoffs next month – attention now shifts to next year’s gubernatorial election. Pollster John Couvillon with JMC Analytics and Polling says even though last week’s vote has yet to be certified, time is of the essence for those wishing to get into the race.
“Given the amount of money you would have to raise for this kind of race, and how long it takes to raise that money, you really can’t afford to jump in during June or July and really think that you can make much of a splash,” Couvillon noted.
Couvillon says given the pounding Democrats laid on Republicans across the country – and Jamie Davis’ near-miss against Julia Letlow in Louisiana – Democrats in Louisiana now have to believe that the gubernatorial election is winnable for them; and as such, several high-profile Democrats will likely be considering a run for the state’s top office.
“We’ve been hearing talk about maybe State Senator Jay Luneau, former Democratic State Senator Gary Smith, Jamie Davis; perhaps some others,” Couvillon said.
Of course, Jeff Landry will be running for re-election for what would be a second and final lifetime term, thanks to the passage of Amendment 4 last Tuesday. Couvillon says Landry cannot take Republican support for granted.
“It’s not like everybody who voted for Donald Trump is irrevocably going to be voting Republican; we just saw that Tuesday night, where there were quite a few upsets and near-upsets across the Deep South,” Couvillon said.
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