Poll: Background checks vote could improve Dems' 2014 chances

Sens. Kay Hagan and Mary Landrieu could get a boost for supporting gun background checks

Published May 2, 2013 6:43PM (EDT)

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.       (Facebook/senatormarylandrieu)
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. (Facebook/senatormarylandrieu)

A new survey from the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling finds that Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Sen Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, both Democrats and both vulnerable in their 2014 reelection campaigns, could get a boost from their support for gun background checks.

Forty-five percent of voters in Louisiana say they're more likely to support Landrieu following the vote, compared to 25 percent who said they're less likely to support her. For Kay Hagan, 52 percent said they were more likely to support her, compared to 26 percent who said they were less likely.

Conversely, the poll shows, Hagan and Landrieu's Republican colleagues aren't doing as well:

Hagan and Landrieu are both faring a lot better on this issue than their Republican colleagues in these states. 50% of North Carolinians say they're less likely to vote for Richard Burr in the future because of his opposition to background checks, compared to only 26% who consider his vote to be a positive. And in Louisiana 41% of voters say they're less likely to vote for David Vitter in the future based on his vote on this bill, compared to just 25% more likely to

Since the background checks vote, a number of polls from PPP and elsewhere show that senators who opposed background checks, like Kelly Ayotte, Rob Portman, Dean Heller and Jeff Flake, were hurt by their opposition to the measure. On the other hand, Pat Toomey, who spearheaded the legislation, got a boost.


By Jillian Rayfield

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com.

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2014 Elections Background Checks Kay Hagan Louisiana Mary Landrieu North Carolina