KY Senate Poll: Lunsford 49, McConnell (plastic-faced asshat - R) 44

Election 2008: Kentucky Senate
Kentucky Senate: Lunsford (D) 49% McConnell (R) 44%
Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the Kentucky Senate race shows Democratic challenger Bruce Lunsford with a five percentage point lead over long-time Republican Senator Mitch McConnell. The poll, conducted just two days after Lunsford won the Democratic nomination, shows the challenger with 49% of the vote while McConnell earns 44%.

These results stand in stark contrast to the Presidential race in Kentucky—John McCain leads Barack Obama by twenty-five percentage points. However, just 67% of McCain voters currently plan to vote for McConnell. Twenty-eight percent (28%) of McCain voters say they will split the ticket and vote for Lunsford. Recognizing the overall political dynamic, McConnell issued a statement last week indicating that he is looking forward to running against the “Lunsford-Obama plan for America."

Given the state’s overwhelming preference for a GOP Presidential candidate, it makes sense for McConnell to link his opponent closely with the top of the Democratic ticket. It is not unusual for the number of ticket-splitters to decline dramatically as Election Day approaches.

While McConnell will try to make Obama a part of Lunsford’s name, Lunsford will emphasize McConnell’s ties to the current President. George W. Bush won 60% of the vote in Kentucky during Election 2004 but just 32% of the state’s voters now say the President is doing a good or an excellent job. Forty-eight percent (48%) say Bush is doing a poor job.

McConnell, the highest ranking Republican in the U.S. Senate, is viewed favorably by 52% of the state’s voters and unfavorably by 42%. He was first elected to the Senate in 1984.

Lunsford, who served as Kentucky’s Commerce Secretary from 1980-1983, earns positive reviews from 47% and less flattering assessments from 43% of Kentucky voters. Lunsford founded a health care company in 1985 that has been a topic of conversation in earlier campaigns and will likely be scrutinized again between now and November.

The economy is viewed as the top issue by 54% of Kentucky voters. Among these voters, Lunsford leads 53% to 38%. Lunsford also leads among voters who consider the War in Iraq as the top issue while McConnell is the overwhelming favorite among those who see National Security as the highest priority. Incumbents are always difficult to defeat

McConnell is far from the only Republican Senator in trouble this fall. In addition to Kentucky, at least nine other Republican Senate seats are potentially in play including seats in Alaska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, New Mexico, Colorado, Minnesota, Virginia, and Texas. Not all of those race will be won by Democrats, but the fact that so many Republican seats are vulnerable virtually assures that the Democratic Senate majority will grow. The underlying reason that so many Republican seats are at risk is that fewer and fewer Americans consider themselves to be Republicans.

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http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_senate_elections/kentucky/election_2008_kentucky_senate

I never thought there was much of a chance Mcconnell could be beat so It looks like I was wrong.

(better put Hillary as VP for the coattails. I hear she is liked a little bit more in KY than Obama ;-))

I'll never forget that sad campaign, putting our majority leader's picture side by side with Bin Laden's and the GOP spent $100 per voter in that state to win. I want revenge...

And that would be a huge pick-up.

I hate that smarmy little prick (and his wife too).