Poll: Reid closing gap in Senate race
The gap between challenger Sharron Angle and Sen. Harry Reid is continuing to narrow, with their race for Nevada Senate nearing a statistical tie, according to a poll released today.
The survey by Rasmussen Reports shows Republican Angle with 46 percent support, while Reid, the Senate majority leader, was at 43 percent.
The statistical margin of error on the telephone poll taken yesterday of 750 likely Nevada voters was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The survey contained encouraging signs for Reid, and troubling signs for Angle, who has seen a lead shrink steadily since she emerged from the June 8 Republican primary and immediately ran into a buzzsaw of attack advertising by the Reid campaign and Democratic allies.
Angle has contributed to the slide with missteps of her own that included describing federal payments by BP for the Gulf oil spill as a "slush fund," and a suggestion that citizens might be inclined to take up arms against Congress.
Angle has been trending down in the last three Rasmussen polls taken since the primary, while Reid has been on the climb.
"This is Reid’s best showing all year," Rasmussen said, noting the poll was taken following President Barack Obama’s visit to Las Vegas last week where he campaigned for the incumbent.
For the challenger, "these findings lend credence to Republican fears that Angle, a Christian conservative with an extensive public record in Nevada, might be vulnerable to attack for political positions characterized by Reid as outside the mainstream."
Reid has attacked Angle’s stances on Social Security and challenged whether she would fight to create jobs in the state. Angle has blamed Nevada’s struggling economy on Reid and his advocacy of Obama policies.
The negative tone of the campaign seems to be taking a toll on both candidates.
Reid won’t win any popularity contests in Nevada, as he is viewed "very unfavorably" by 48 percent of respondents. In a previous surveys taken June 22, his "very unfavorables" were at 43 percent
But Angle seems to be sinking along with him. Her "very unfavorables" were at 38 percent, while last month they were at 33 percent.
Only 18 percent said they have a "very favorable" view of Angle, while Reid’s most ardent fans stood at 26 percent.
At this point in a campaign, Rasmussen said the percentage of likely voters who have strong likes or dislikes about each candidate is telling, presumably for clues as to who may be most motivated to turn out on Election Day.