A new poll from JMC Analytics indicates there is minimal support from Louisianans for changing congressional, statewide, legislative, and certain judicial elections to closed primaries. Pollster John Couvillon says 48 percent of respondents to his survey of 660 likely voters did not know the law had changed.
“I suspect there are going to be a lot of surprised people when the time comes in the spring of 2026 when people go vote in the primaries and they’re told that they can’t participate in that Democrat-Republican primary any more.”
The survey of 39 percent Democrats and 38 percent Republicans found closed primaries have become less popular among Louisianans since the January 2024 special session.
Couvillon says by a four to one margin, voters were less likely to support a legislator who favored changing the law to close primaries for several offices compared to a previous poll.
“In the previous poll it was 54 to 20 negative. That 54 to 20 number has widened to 60 to 15 and have actually lost some of whatever popularity that it had.”
Couvillon says 72 percent of their respondents were less likely to support closed party primaries if it would cost taxpayers up to $135 million dollars over the next decade. He points out other questions on the poll that received unfavorable support from respondents.
“One was the prospect of a hundred sixty thousand voters who are in a quote unquote small party would be disenfranchised. The other is the fact that only less than one percent of elected officials would be impacted by the initial changes.”
