Jeff Landry Far Ahead of Challengers in Race for Louisiana Governor

BATON ROUGE, La. (KPEL News) - A recent poll shows Attorney General Jeff Landry is far ahead of all other candidates for Louisiana governor in this year's jungle primary, and is poised for a major win in the run-off.

While Landry does not currently have the numbers to avoid a run-off entirely (candidates need more than 50 percent of the primary vote in that scenario), he has maintained a dominant showing in statewide polling on the race.

The latest poll comes from Faucheaux Strategies, and was commissioned by several media outlets in the state -  WWL-TV (New Orleans), The Advocate, The Times-Picayune, Urban League of Louisiana, KATC (Lafayette, La.), Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana - and it shows Landry 10 points ahead of the lone Democratic candidate, Shawn Wilson, and almost 30 points ahead of the third-place candidate, independent Hunter Lundy.

More from The Advocate:

The poll indicates that Landry, the Republican attorney general, and Wilson, the only Democrat in the race, remain positioned to finish in the top two spots in the Oct. 14 primary and advance to the runoff election, which will be held on Nov. 18. The two have led the field throughout the campaign.

Landry is leading Wilson, a former state transportation secretary, in a hypothetical match-up, 54% to 36%, with 10% undecided. Wilson is attempting to be the first Black candidate elected statewide in 150 years, at a time when Republicans hold nearly all the levers of power in Louisiana.

New Orleans pollster Ron Faucheux, whose Faucheux Strategies conducted the poll on behalf of the news and nonpartisan organizations, said Landry is benefiting from his time in the public eye over the past seven years as attorney general and from his endorsements by the Louisiana Republican Party and former President Donald Trump, who won Louisiana in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. Trump also had a 50% favorable rating, compared to a 44% unfavorable rating, in the poll.

The top five candidates are invited to attend an hour-long debate being held Thursday night, though Landry has signaled he will not be in attendance.

But his position in the race seems comfortable. In the latest poll, he received 63 percent of the Republican vote. Landry also led among independents with 30 percent of the vote.

Landry was also one of two targets in the first direct attack ads from a candidate this cycle when John Schroder took aim at him and Stephen Waguespack in August.