Decision 2012 – Louisiana Supreme Court Poll

District 5 of the Louisiana Supreme Court is essentially the Baton Rouge, Louisiana media market (i.e., Baton Rouge, its suburbs, and surrounding parishes). This is an area that because of its white collar job base and innate conservatism can be counted on to vote Republican. However, there is also a formidable Democratic base comprising three elements: (1) blacks, who make up 33% of the district’s voters, (2) rural whites living in parishes outside the Baton Rouge metropolitan area, (3) state employees and/or university professors, who are the backbone of the white moderate/liberal base. You also have numerous petrochemical employees who once were populist Democrats; today, they are more likely to support Republicans in most “top of the ballot” elections.

Recently, 20 year incumbent Kitty Kimball decided to retire, and a special election has been called to conincide with the Presidential election. There are 8 candidates running (5 Republicans, two Democrats, and an Independent). With less than a week to go until the primary, the big question among political and legal insiders is: which two candidates will make the runoff  ? JMC Analytics and Polling, at the request of the Higginbotham campaign, commissioned a poll. Attached are the results.