Redstate

By paulseale Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

In a poll released today by Rasmussen Reports (the guy who nailed the 2004 election), Jim Talent slightly extended his lead to two points 48 percent to 46 percent. With leaners included he reaches the 50 percent mark and still leads only by two.

Perhaps the most damning statstic for McCaskill in the poll is voter enthusiasm. Rasmussen reports that 44 percent are certain to vote for Jim Talent while only 40 percent are dedicated to voting for Claire McCaskill! The bad news doesnt stop there, though.

People who are voting for Talent are doing so because they believe in him. A whopping 72 percent say they are voting for him because he is the prefered candidate. McCaskil only scores a 58 percent in the same category.

While both candidates have a 31 percent unfavorable rating, Talent does have a 31 percent very favorable mark versus only 24 percent for McCaskill. At the beginning of October 51 percent had a favorable rating of Claire which droped to 48 percent. Talent had a similar four point drop as well. He started at 55 percent and now maintains a 51 percent favorable rating.

One last interesting statistic which caught my attention was Iraq. While 50 percent of Missourians believe things are going badly in Iraq, they trust a Republican to handle the situation by a 48 percent to 38 percent margin. So, if we believe everything the talking heads are saying about Missouri being a "bellweather" for the nation, that could spell trouble for Deafeato, er Democrats.