The new Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll of Arkansas finds Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln ahead of her primary challenger, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter. But the gap has been closing — and it’s also possible that Halter could be the stronger Democrat for the general election.
The numbers: Lincoln 44%, Halter 31%, with a ±5% margin of error. In the previous poll, from late November and early December 2009 — before Halter was officially in the race — Lincoln led by 42%-26%.
The poll has Lincoln trailing all five Republicans. Rep. John Boozman, the frontrunner for the GOP nomination, leads her by 49%-42%. State Sen. Kim Hendren leads Lincoln by 48%-43%, state Sen. Gilbert Baker leads by 49%-41%, businessman Curtis Coleman is ahead by 47%-44%, and businessman Tom Cox leads by 47%-43%.
Boozman also leads Halter, by a margin of 48%-40%. Hendren edges Halter by a statistically insignificant 45%-44%, though, and Baker has a narrow advantage of 46%-44%. Halter edges out Cox by 45%-44%, and Halter leads Cox by 45%-43%.
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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