Gallup Poll: Louisiana Among America’s Most Politically Competitive States
Published on : Oct-15-2016 06:08:17
Despite the fact that Democrats no longer hold a single statewide elected office in the state, Louisiana is said to be among the nation’s most politically competitive in a new Gallup analysis based on its polling of voter sentiment last year in all 50 states.
Gallup says its analysis is based on interviews with about 177,000 adults, who were asked whether they identify more with the Democratic or Republican parties. Independents and those who said they have no party preference were asked to say which party they lean toward more.
The results show Massachusetts is the most Democratic state, with the party having a nearly 22% advantage among voters. Wyoming is said to be the most Republican state, with the GOP holding a 35.5% advantage there. All told, Gallup classifies 17 states as solidly Democratic, 15 as solidly Republican.
“The remaining 18 ‘competitive’ states have a party advantage for either party of no greater than five percentage points,” Gallup notes. “Within this group, Louisiana, Nevada and Ohio are the most competitive states, with less than one percentage point difference between the two parties.”
Specifically in Louisiana, the Gallup figures show 42.2% of voters identify themselves as Democratic or leaning toward that party; while 42.7% of voters align themselves with the Republican party—giving the GOP a scant 0.5 percentage point advantage.
As for the implications of its poll results, Gallup notes that how voters identify themselves politically does not always align with the reality at the ballot box on any given election.
“A state’s partisanship is an indicator of how the state will vote in federal and state elections, as well as the types of policies that will become law in those states,” Gallup says. “Of course, the figures presented here are based on all state residents, and the differences in turnout, which usually favor Republicans, can alter the political balance of the state electorate in a given election.” See the complete poll results and analysis. —Steve Sanoski, February 6, 2015
