"Republicans in Free Fall"
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A new USA Today/Gallup Poll shows Democrats hold a 23-point lead over Republican candidates in the generic congressional ballot. "That's double the lead Republicans had a month before they seized control of Congress in 1994."
President Bush's approval rating is now 37%, down seven points in the last month. The approval rating for Congress is 24%, down five points.
"Government corruption, Iraq and terrorism were the three most important issues to poll respondents. They said Democrats would do a better job on all three. The party had a 21-point advantage on handling corruption and a 17-point advantage on Iraq. A longstanding GOP advantage on terrorism vanished; Democrats had a 5-point edge."
Majority Think Hastert Should Resign
A new CNN poll finds a majority of Americans, 52% to 31%, believe House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) should lose his leadership post over the congressional page sex scandal.
Meanwhile, a SurveyUSA poll shows 45% think Hastert should resign from Congress entirely and 20% think he should at least resign as Speaker.
In Virginia, Senate Race Could Hinge on Debate
With the Virginia U.S. Senate race "essentially a dead heat for nearly a month," Sen. George Allen (R-VA) and Jim Webb (D) "meet in Richmond tonight for what could be a pivotal debate," the Virgnian-Pilot reports.
"Coming in prime time four weeks before Election Day, it is likely to command a larger audience than its predecessors."
The debate can be seen on C-SPAN tonight at 8 pm ET. Debate Scoop will be live-blogging all the action.
In Minnesota, Hatch Surges Ahead
Mike Hatch (D) has gained eight points over the past month on Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) in Minnesota’s gubernatorial race, according to a new Rasmussen Reports survey. Hatch now leads Pawlenty by two points, 44% to 42%.
Independents will be the key to victory in this race, as each candidate has locked up the vote of over 80% of his base.
Meanwhile, in the U.S. Senate race, Amy Klobuchar (D) is demolishing Rep. Mark Kennedy (R-MN). She has added ten points to her lead since September, currently winning 53% to 36%.
In Michigan, Stabenow Pulls Away
Despite coming within five points of Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) following his primary victory, Mike Bouchard’s momentum appears to have trailed off significantly. According to a new Rasmussen Reports poll, Stabenow currently beats Bouchard by 17 points, 56% to 39%.
Time appears to be running out for Bouchard. With just over four weeks left until the election, only 4% of voters are undecided and 46% of voters are certain they’ll vote for Stabenow. |
