According to a new poll from Rasmussen, Republican nominee Sharron Angle leads Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid 50-48 among voters pressed to make a choice between the two. Among all respondents, the race is a deadlocked at 47-47.
In the last Rasmussen poll, taken in July, Reid led 45-43.
Rasmussen notes that although the numbers look like less than great news for Reid — who has spent the summer painting Angle as too crazy for elected office — the overall polling story actually looks worse for Angle than the incumbent Democrat.
“Earlier this year, Reid was considered to be one of the Senate’s most vulnerable incumbents,” Rasmussen reports. The pollster cites Reid’s steady climb in polling numbers since the race began, culminating in the new results. “For Angle, the numbers have been heading in the opposite direction.” Still, the pollster reports, today’s poll “represents the first time her support has increased since the primary.”
Today’s poll was the first Rasmussen survey of the cycle to include leaners, which the pollster describes as “those who initially indicate no preference for either of the candidates but answer a follow-up question and say they are leaning towards a particular candidate.”
Rasmussen surveyed 750 likely voters in Nevada on Monday. The margin for error in the poll is 4%.
The TPM Poll Average shows Reid leading Angle 46.4-43.8.
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
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