Poll: Two Major GOP Incumbents in Danger -- In Alaska

[babylonsister]

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/05/poll_two_major_republican_incu.php


Now this is really something. New polling shows that not one but two scandal-plagued incumbent Republicans are seriously in danger of losing their seats -- and to top it off, both are in a state that has historically been a GOP stronghold, Alaska.

The two GOPers in question are TPMmuckraker all-stars: Sen. Ted Stevens, who is at the center of a corruption investigation; and Rep. Don Young, whose potential involvement in the Coconut Road earmark has landed him in the hotseat. Both are trailing their Dem challengers.

From the new polls commissioned by Daily Kos, and conducted by the non-partisan firm Research 2000:

Senate
Begich (D) 48%
Stevens (R) 43%

House
Berkowitz (D) 50%
Young (R) 40%

Sample size: 600 likely voters.
Margin of error: ±4%.

Democrats have not won a federal race in Alaska since 1974, when Mike Gravel was elected to a second term in the Senate. But it's looking like this could be a big year indeed.

[Parche]

1. I Have A Big Itch

:woohoo: :woohoo:

:hi:

[Lasher]

2. Boo hoo, the Senior GOP Senator is going to get his ass kicked

Trust me, this is symbolic of the impending Republican ouster.

[griffi94]

3. isn't stevens

the one behind the bridge to nowhere. and wasn't he also the one who said the internet is a series of tubes.

[Blue_In_AK]

9. The Bridge to Nowhere

a/k/a Don Young's Way :puke: was Young's idea.

[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

4. Ted Stevens

is a noxious spuming hole in the ground, and I hope his remodeled house paid for by bribes and Alaskan taxpayer dollars gets termites.

[wryter2000]

5. Buh-bye

I'm wearing Snoopy out with my happy dancing.

[Muttocracy]

7. love the Snoopy dance! nt

[wryter2000]

11. Someone else gave me the link

Right click, copy properties, and paste that into a post. Viola...Snoopy.

[Zynx]

6. I'd be curious if that gruesome twosome has made McCain weaker in Alaska too.

[Blue_In_AK]

10. No, McCain was weak in Alaska

all on his own. He tanked bad here, coming in dead last when all the Republican candidates were still in the race. Ron Paul even beat him.

[Blue_In_AK]

8. This is fine

except I'm irritated that Kos only polls Don Young against Ethan Berkowitz and not Ethan's opponent in the primary, Diane Benson, who is a much more progressive candidate, in my opinion. Already the party powers-that-be are trying to marginalize Diane just like they did in 2006, when with NO support from the national and state party she pulled 40% of the votes against Young. Berkowitz has been courted by the DCCC and Rahm Emanuel, and Kos has blindly followed suit.


For more, read these recent entries in the Progressive Alaska blog.

"Diane Benson Featured in Article (TruthOut) About Women Candidates"
http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2008/05/diane-benson-featured-in-article-about.html

and

"One Tough Indian Woman Builds Momentum"
http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2008/05/one-tough-indian-woman-builds-momentum.html


I'm not saying that Ethan's a bad candidate -- he was my state representative after all -- but Diane is so much more a woman of the people and she really is an excellent choice. I'm looking for her to do very well here with Progressive Democrats and Independents, and I imagine she'll kick ass in the villages.