BATON ROUGE, La. (NEXSTAR) – The majority of Louisiana voters would support an increase in the gas tax if the money were dedicated to maintaining or building new state roads, highways, and bridges.
Louisiana hasn’t seen an increase in the gas tax in three decades. In a state dealing with an $14 billion infrastructure backlog amid clogged and crumbling roadways and bridges, nearly half (47%) of those surveyed in a an exclusive Nexstar poll conducted by JMC Analytics and Polling in Baton Rouge said they would be willing to pay more for to fill up if it would help address those problems.
Another third (33%) said they would not and 21% said they were undecided.
The poll also included questions about abortion and gun rights in the wake of recent shootings in Dayton, Ohio; El Paso, Texas; and Odessa, Texas.
When asked specifically about access to semi-automatic rifles, more than half (58%) of the people questioned this week said they either supported limitations on the 2nd Amendment or called for these rifles to be outlawed. Only 5% oppose the constitutional right to keep and bear arms and support limitations on gun ownership.
On the topic of abortion, the poll found that nearly 40% of voters are in favor of rape and incest exceptions, even if they identify as pro-life.
The poll’s margin of error is 3.8%. It was conducted Sept. 14-17 and included 600 respondents from across Louisiana. Click here for a breakdown of the responses by area of the state and demographics.*
It was commissioned by Nexstar Media Group ahead of the first debate in the race for Louisiana Governor, which was hosted and televised statewide Thursday night by Nexstar in collaboration with the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication.
