La. U.S. Senate race still tight; Ernst has six-point lead in one Iowa poll

WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – With only five weeks to go until the general election, no candidate in the Louisiana U.S. Senate race has pulled away from the other, though the Republican in the Iowa U.S. Senate race has opened a six-point lead.

In Louisiana, incumbent Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, holds a three-point lead over her chief Republican opponent, Rep. Bill Cassidy, according to a CNN poll released Sunday.

The poll shows Landrieu with 43 percent of the vote, Cassidy at 40 percent and Republican Rob Maness with nine percent.

The state of Louisiana implements a blanket primary system in which the general election and primary are one in the same.

If no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote on Nov. 4, a runoff will be held on Dec. 6 for the top two voter getters.

If a runoff election were to occur, 50 percent of voters would select Cassidy while 47 percent would vote for Landrieu, according to the poll.

Landrieu recently made headlines when a photo of her helping a football fan perform a kegstand surfaced. The incident transpired at a tailgate party for the Mississippi State-LSU game.

In Iowa, a Des Moines Register poll has state Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican, with a six-point lead over Rep. Bruce Braley in the race for Iowa’s open U.S. Senate seat.

However, a Sept. 19 Rasmussen Reports poll showed the candidates at 43 percent apiece.

On Monday, the Huffington Post reported that there is a 58 percent chance Republicans will take control of the Senate this election cycle.

Reach David Yates at elections@legalnewsline.com