Kansas City Star:Here are snapshots of other races polled by Mason-Dixon followed by Poll results:
No Republicans were shown to lead in any key state surveyed by Mason-Dixon. "These numbers look very encouraging for the Democrats to take control of the Senate," Coker said. Democrats must net six new seats.
Of the seven at-risk GOP seats, the Republicans were tied in Missouri and Virginia and running slightly behind in Ohio, Rhode Island and Tennessee. The Republican incumbents in Montana and Pennsylvania appear to be in trouble, according to the polls.
Democratic incumbents, meanwhile, have a slight edge in New Jersey and are leading in Maryland and Washington, their three most vulnerable states.
Pennsylvania: Democratic challenger Bob Casey Jr., the state treasurer, led Republican Sen. Rick Santorum 49 to 40 percent. More than two out of five Pennsylvania voters have an unfavorable opinion of Santorum, among the highest negative ratings of any candidate in the key states. Also, 56 percent of voters disapprove of how Bush is doing his job.
Rhode Island: Democratic challenger Sheldon Whitehouse had a slight edge over Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee, 42 to 41 percent. Trends look different in Rhode Island in part because Chafee opposes Bush on major issues -- including Iraq and tax cuts. Rhode Island gives Bush his worst ratings of any crucial state -- 70 percent disapproval.
Virginia: Republican Sen. George Allen and Democratic challenger James Webb are tied at 43 percent each.
Iraq and terrorism are both major issues in the state that is home to the Pentagon and the Atlantic fleet. Among those who think Iraq is the top issue, Webb leads 4-to-1. More than three out of five disapprove of how Bush is handling the Iraq war. Of them, 66 percent support Webb, a former combat veteran and Navy secretary who opposes the war.
Among those who rate terrorism their top issue, Allen leads by a similar amount.
Maryland: Democratic Rep. Ben Cardin led Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele 47 to 41 percent in the race for the Democratic seat of Sen. Paul Sarbanes, who is retiring.
Also, nearly seven out of 10 disapprove of how Bush is handling the war, and disapprovers supported Cardin 2-to-1.
Steele is bidding to become the first Republican African-American elected to the Senate since Edward Brooke of Massachusetts in 1966. Steele had 19 percent of the African-American support, while Cardin had 59 percent. Steele had 48 percent of the white support; Cardin had 43 percent.
New Jersey: Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez had a slight statistical edge over Republican Tom Kean Jr., a state senator, 44 to 41 percent.
Bush is a factor in New Jersey, where 37 percent approve of his job performance and 61 percent disapprove. Menendez leads 3-to-1 among those who don't like the way Bush is doing his job. Kean leads 10-to-1 among those who like Bush.
Iraq narrowly tops terrorism on New Jersey's list of concerns, noteworthy in a state that lost citizens in the Sept. 11 attacks and has major port operations. Menendez leads 5-to-1 among those who rank Iraq tops; Kean leads 2-to-1 among those who rank terrorism their top concern.
Washington: Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell led Republican Mike McGavick 50 to 40 percent.
The war in Iraq is a big issue in Washington, followed by terrorism, taxes and government spending.
Of those who think Iraq is the No. 1 issue, Cantwell is ahead 2-to-1. That's a lower ratio than Democrats in other states, probably because Cantwell voted to authorize the war and faced an anti-war challenge in a primary.
Montana: Democrat Jon Tester, the state Senate president, led Republican Sen. Conrad Burns 47 to 40 percent, according to a Mason-Dixon poll done for Lee Newspapers and released Sunday.
Ohio: Democrat Rep. Sherrod Brown had 45 percent and the incumbent, Sen. Mike DeWine, had 43 percent in a poll for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and made available to McClatchy on Sunday.
Tennessee: Democratic Rep. Harold Ford Jr. had 43 percent and Republican Bob Corker, a former mayor of Chattanooga, had 42 percent. The poll was conducted for the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Poll Specifics and whole story! http://www.kansascity.com/...
Forbes: Polls show that Americans rank the Iraq War and terrorism as the biggest problems facing the country. But the economy has time and again proved a crucial factor in national elections--with a bad economy, in particular, often driving throngs to the polls to boot out incumbents.
"When you ask people about their personal situations--while no one is on easy street--most people say they're getting along pretty well," says Karlyn Bowman, a polling analyst at the conservative American Enterprise Institute in Washington.
Any number of factors could be causing the gloom over the economy--from an overhang of pessimism related to the war in Iraq to exploding health care and tuition costs to angst over globalization. There is also the sense that ordinary workers haven't gained their fair share from the current expansion.
Whatever the source, voters are blaming Republicans: Democrats have a 14-point edge over Republicans on handling the economy, according to a recent poll from the Pew Research Center.
For Republicans, the worry is that pessimism over the economy, the Iraq War or the country more generally will drive voters who rate their own financial security highly to nonetheless punish the party in power.
"The research done suggests that people's perceptions of the country as a whole is actually more important than their own personal financial situation," says Thomas Mann, a political expert at the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution in Washington.
Despite the drumbeat of bad news coming out of Iraq and squabbling in Washington over terror legislation, there are signs that the economy is reclaiming voters' attention: A new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll cites it as the most important election issue, followed by the Iraq War, immigration and the war on terrorism. http://www.forbes.com/...
When all is said and done we should by all rights do very well in November as has been my faith and belief for quite a while. With the above poll being taken pre Foley and Wooward, I expect things to get even better despite Bushco's attempt at damage control as Republican fatigue grows and reality increasingly sets in.I believe Foley and Woodward will be the gifts that keep on giving and Dems will make sure!
James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
www.anaveragepatriot.com
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