BATON ROUGE - The frontrunners at the start of the 2023 campaign for Louisiana governor are the frontrunners today, according to a new statewide poll—but it is Republican Jeff Landry who is "best positioned to win" the race this fall.

WBRZ and several partner organizations commissioned the poll, which was conducted by Faucheux Strategies from Aug. 14-19.

Landry, the current Louisiana Attorney General, holds the lead position with 36 percent support. The only major Democrat to qualify, former DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson, is at 26 percent.

No other candidate approached double-digit support when likely voters were asked who they would vote for if the election were held right now. Independent Hunter Lundy registered third at 7 percent, followed by Republicans Steven Waguespack (6 percent), John Schroder (4 percent), Sharon Hewitt (3 percent), and Richard Nelson (2 percent).

Election Day is Oct. 14, and early voting for Louisiana's open primary will occur from Sept. 30 to Oct. 7. If no single candidate exceeds 50 percent, a runoff featuring the top two vote-getters will take place on Nov. 18.

The scientific survey shows Landry well ahead of his most likely opponent in a runoff. In such a head-to-head contest, 54 percent of voters polled would vote for Landry, with 36 percent supporting Wilson and another 10 percent unsure.

Landry may not have unified support in a first round of voting, but he appears likely to rally the party to his side in a runoff. While 9 out of 10 Republicans would choose Landry in that runoff scenario, only 7 out of 10 Democrats say they would back Wilson.

That led pollsters to conclude that Landry is in a prime position to eventually claim victory.

The five leading candidates in the race will be invited to take part in a debate on Sept. 7 that will air locally on WBRZ Plus and on other Louisiana television stations outside of the Capital Region. That event will be an opportunity for the lagging candidates to find traction in a crowded field.

"While there is still time to alter the election’s dynamics, the window of opportunity is closing quickly on the five candidates in single digits," the poll concludes.

Other media outlets in the polling partnership include WWL-TV, KTBS-TV, KATC, and The Times-Picayune/The Advocate. The Urban League of Louisiana and the Public Affairs Research Council round out the sponsorship group.

Faucheux Strategies is a nonpartisan research company that is unaffiliated with any of the candidates. The margin of error for the full polling sample is 3.46 percent, with 800 completed surveys included in the results of the poll.

Sixty-four percent of respondents are white, 30 percent Black and six percent other.

Interviews were conducted via cell phones and landlines.