Louisiana Gov. Race: Syrian Refugee Debate Erodes Dem’s Lead To 4 Points

According to the newest state-wide poll of Louisiana taken Thursday, Republican gubernatorial candidate David Vitter has inched to within just 4 points of his Democrat opponent, John Bel Edwards. Earlier in the month, Edwards had been handily beating Vitter by as much as +22 points.

Proving once again why early voting is an appallingly dumb idea, while the Syrian refugee debate appears to be helping Vitter gain ground (he leads on this issue 40% to 36%), according to the Huffington Post, more than a quarter of a million votes have already been cast in Louisiana.

Like almost every Republican governor, including Bobby Jindal, the man he would be replacing, Vitter has come out against allowing poorly vetted (per Obama’s own F.B.I. director) Syrian refugees into Louisiana. Edwards disagrees. The refugee debate that has galvanized the country this week appears to be the only thing that could have shaken up the race.

Polling has been notoriously awful the last few years. Two weeks ago, Republican Matt Bevin was predicted to lose the governor’s race in Kentucky by double digits. He went on to win by 9 points.

 

Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC