Senate Guru alerts us to a new Strategic Vision poll (800 LVs, Oct. 19-21, MOE 3%) of the Georgia senate race that measures head to head match-ups between GOP incumbent Saxby Chambliss and four potential Democratic rivals. In each case, Chambliss easily dispatches the Democrats with 57% or 58% of the vote, but with an approval at an unexceptional 52%, voters would appear to be willing to consider replacing Chambliss if the right Democrat came along.
Republican polling outfit Insider Advantage (h/t Political Wire) polled a head-to-head match-up (400 RVs, Oct. 24-25) between Chambliss and former senator Max Cleland and indeed found Chambliss's support dropping well below 50% against the Vietnam war hero Chambliss defeated in 2002 by portraying him as anti-American.
Chambliss 36
Cleland 24
Undecided 40
The huge undecided number is the big story here, as pollster Matt Towery explains:
"The key to this survey versus other surveys that have been conducted with other potential U.S. Senate candidates is that when you add Cleland to the mix, the undecided vote soars, leaving Chambliss well below the 50 percent mark," he said. "My guess is that a well-funded Cleland campaign would still be an underdog, but would have more than a legitimate chance of potentially pulling off an upset, given the fact that among independent voters, Chambliss led by only 7 points with some 38 percent stating that they were undecided."
The highest undecided number in the Strategic Vision poll is 18%.
Do I see a draft Max Cleland movement in our future? Now that's a race I want to see.
http://www.mydd.com/