A statewide poll conducted for the Times Picayune and the Advocate finds Governor Jeff Landry’s approval rating is 56-percent. ULM political science professor Pearson Cross says Landry has been busy with two special sessions and a regular session since January and voters have noticed.
“He’s been in the news, largely appearing to do things that would change the state for the better, so I think voters are responding initially responding to the energy you get with a new governor,” Cross said.
Landry received nearly 52% of the vote when he was elected in October.
But only 21-percent of the voters approve of how he’s handling the state’s insurance crisis. Cross says the low the percentage could be the result of voters not understanding the insurance reform legislation that’s lawmakers are debating.
“I don’t that many respondents to this poll can actually state any authoritative what exactly Landry has done or what Tim Temple’s proposals mean to them,” Cross said.
Only one percent of the respondents said a new constitution should be one of the governor’s top goals. Cross says Landry is pushing for a constitutional convention to begin on May 20th.
“This enthusiasm for the constitution or the lack of enthusiasm is shared by the Legislature, who is not excited about cutting their session short in order to deal with it,” Cross said.
