New polls show Clinton, Trump with major leads in Louisiana ahead of primary

BATON ROUGE, La., March 3 (UPI) -- Two new polls released ahead of Saturday's Louisiana presidential primary show front-runners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton holding commanding leads.

A poll conducted by the Trafalgar Group found Trump drawing support from 44 percent of Republican voters in the state -- nearly 20 points ahead of his next-closest rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who clocked 26 percent in the survey.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio polled in third place at 15 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich carried 7 percent. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who's said he will likely exit the Republican race, pulled in 5 percent of the vote.

That poll was conducted Monday and Tuesday and surveyed 1,509 likely voters, and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.

On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton polled a resounding 61 percent in a survey conducted by Magellan Strategies. Her opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, pulled in 14 percent.

That poll was conducted Monday and included 865 likely voters, and carried a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

The Louisiana primary will be one of five nominating contests held Saturday -- with 46 delegates at stake for Republicans and 51 for Democrats.

Dynamics in the state favor both front-runners, with a significant number of highly conservative, evangelical voters, with whom Trump has proved popular in other states.

Conversely, Louisiana's substantial black population bodes well for Clinton, as she has received overwhelming support from black voters in previous contests.