HuffPo: Sens. Landrieu, Hagan Will Fare Better for Supporting Gun Control

On May 2, the Huffington Post claimed red state Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Kay Hagan (D-NC) will actually fare better in 2014 for having supported gun control.

The site bases the claim upon numbers from a poll by Public Policy Polling, which shows Landrieu’s post-gun control vote approval rating is at 49%–a six percentage point increase since February.

Similarly, the Huffington Post says Hagan has increased support in North Carolina as well following her vote in favor of the failed Senate gun control bill, with 52% of respondents saying her stance on gun control would make them more likely to vote for her.

These approval figures are in the poll and cannot be disputed. But the pertinent information the Huffington Post ignored from the same poll also cannot be disputed.

For example, if we look at poll responses in Louisiana based on party–and keep in mind it’s a very red state–Landrieu’s position doesn’t look all that strong. For one, her 49% approval is largely the result of an approval rate of 71% among democrats; among republicans, her approval rating is just 24%.

Moreover, the support she supposedly garnered from voting for gun control is largely a result of the fact that 63% of democrats said they are more likely to vote for her as a consequence. Once again, only 24% of republicans reacted positively to her stance.

The story is the same in North Carolina, where 54% of democrats approve of Hagan’s job performance, while only 19% of republicans do. Meanwhile, Hagan’s overall job approval is in the tank, with 37% of all respondents approving.