The race for President of the United States this year seems to be a battle of unpopular candidates. Let me clarify that for you. Both of the major party candidates, Donald Trump for the Republicans and Hillary Clinton for the Democrats have very high unfavorable ratings among voters.

There would certainly be some truth the to the hypothesis that Americans will be going to the polls in November to elect the lesser of two evils. This race for the White House could have a peripheral affect on who might earn the honor of representing Louisiana in the United States Senate.

It could affect the race by a few points here or there but remember we’re very likely to elect a Republican to the senate anyway in this state.

The words of Dr. Pearson Cross a Political Science Professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Dr. Cross' remarks to the Louisiana Radio Network were in response to a query about how candidate Trump's national polling numbers have been dropping over the past few weeks. 

That might be a selling point for one or more of the Republican candidates if they say, look I want to make this really clear, I’m a conservative, I’m a republican, but Donald Trump does not represent me.

While it's undecided if Donald Trump will be a help or a hindrance to GOP candidates in Louisiana there will certainly be some effect.

Cross suggested in his comments that voter turnout for this November's general election shouldn't be higher than 55%. That estimate has a lot to do with the unfavorable ratings of both of the major party candidates. Could a lower turnout and Donald Trump's polling numbers actually be a boost for a Democratic candidate in the Senate race?

They could say very strongly, told you so, this is not the way to go, the Republican party does not represent the future, align with a candidate that’s Louisiana first.

The general consensus among political observers is that no candidate will take the United States Senate race outright in November. Most observers feel that a runoff election will be necessary. That election will most certainly have a smaller turnout than the general election.

 

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