Skip to content

Poll: Boustany, Fleming Trail in Louisiana Senate Race

State treasurer in third Senate bid holds large lead over large field

Louisiana Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. trails front-runner John N. Kennedy by 20 points in a new Louisiana Senate poll with Rep. John Fleming another 5 points back. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Louisiana Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. trails front-runner John N. Kennedy by 20 points in a new Louisiana Senate poll with Rep. John Fleming another 5 points back. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Louisiana state Treasurer John N. Kennedy, a self-described “political misfit,” holds a large lead in the race to replace retiring Republican Sen. David Vitter, according to a new poll, significantly outperforming two House members who gave up their seats to run.   

Thirty-two percent of respondents to the survey conducted by Southern Media & Opinion Research in late May said they would vote for Kennedy, a Republican, if the election were held then, compared to 10.1 percent for Rep. Charles Boustany Jr., and 5.2 percent for Rep. John Fleming, who are also Republicans.  

[

Third Candidate Joins Louisiana Senate Race

]  

Louisiana conducts a “jungle primary” in which candidates run in the same race regardless of political party. If no one wins a majority of votes in November, the top two finishers will meet in a runoff.  

Boustany is in second place in the poll and Fleming fourth in the eight-candidate field, according to the survey of 500 likely voters.  

The highest polling Democrat is Foster Campbell, a member of the state’s Public Service Commission, who pulled in 9.2 percent for third place.   

[

After Vitter’s Loss, Louisiana Republicans Seeking Promotions

]  

Boustany and Fleming announced their campaigns within weeks of Vitter’s decision to not seek re-election after he lost the 2015 Louisiana governor’s race.   

Kennedy joined the race soon after. He ran for Senate in 2004 as a Democrat and four years later as a Republican.   

“Some politicians call me a troublemaker, a misfit, a rebel, a square peg in a round hole, because I’m not part of the club,” he has said previously.

Contact Akin at 


stephanieakin@rollcall.com


 and follow her on Twitter at 


@stephanieakin

.


Get breaking news alerts and more from Roll Call on your iPhone or your Android.

Recent Stories

Judge blocks latest attempt to slash CFPB

Supreme Court to hear arguments over preventive care task force

Trump puts Italy’s Meloni in high-pressure role as bridge to EU on tariffs

Supreme Court to review Trump birthright citizenship order

At the Races: Only the young

California sues to stop tariffs levied under economic emergency