Sen. Lincoln sees declining poll numbers
by November 2, 2009 9:34 am 68 views
The poll numbers continue to slip for U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D.-Ark.
Lincoln faces a tough election cycle in 2010. Several Republicans have stepped up to the challenge, including Stanley Reed, the former president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau and former board chairman of the University of Arkansas System.
Also, Arkansas Sen. Bob Johnson, a Democrat and the most recent president of the Arkansas Senate, is considering challenging Lincoln in the Democrat primary.
From July to October, Lincoln’s poll numbers slipped according to the Talk Business Quarterly Poll of 600 likely Arkansas voters. Lincoln had a favorable rating of 42% in the most recent poll and an unfavorable rating of 46%. Three months ago, before a contentious August recess, Lincoln had a favorable rating of 49% and an unfavorable rating of 40%. The latest Talk Business poll was taken on Oct. 12-15, 2009 and has a margin of error of +/- 4%.
The October poll also found that voters were split in their assessment of Lincoln’s job performance. Forty-five percent of those surveyed said they approved of the job Lincoln was doing, while 45% disapproved. In July, Lincoln’s job approval rating equaled her popularity with 49% approving of her performance and 40% disapproving.
Following are the two key questions of the poll.
• Sen. Blanche Lincoln recently became Chairman of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee. Does this make you more likely or less likely to vote for her in the 2010 election? And is that much more/less or just somewhat more/less?
12% Much More
10% Somewhat More
47% No Difference
9% Somewhat Less
13% Much Less
9% Don’t Know
• If the election was held today, and you had to make a choice, would you vote to re-elect Blanche Lincoln as your U.S. Senator no matter who ran against her?
25% Yes
61% No
14% Don’t Know
In the July poll, 27% said they would support Lincoln no matter her opponent and 60% said they would consider another candidate.
Link here for the full report and more analysis of the numbers.