In the past 2-3 days, new polls in the Montana and Arizona Senate races have been released by Lee Newspapers (conducted by Mason-Dixon research) and Rasmussen. Here are the findings below:
The Good News: The Lee Newspapers poll (which appeared in the Helena Independent Record on 12/25) showed Conrad Burns leading John Morrison by a mere 6% (46%-40%, with 14% undecided). This poll sampled 625 registered Montana voters between Dec. 13-15. Morrison is better known than Tester, having won statewide office in the past.
More Good News: Despite a GOP-biased wording of the question, poll results showed that 58% were concerned with over Burns' Abramoff dealings, with 29% "very concerned" and another 29% "somewhat concerned".
The Not-so-Good News: The same Lee Newspapers poll showed Burns still leading Jon Tester by 14% (49%-35%, with 16% undecided).
The Bad News: A new Rasmussen poll released the other day shows that Jon Kyl leads Jim Pederson by a solid 20% margin, 50% to 30%. Kyl has a strong 53%-36% favorable rating, easily beating Pederson's 40%-34%. This Arizona race looks like it might be unwinnable for us:
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/...
Note: The Montana poll appeared in the online edition of the Helena Independent Record yesterday on 12/15, but is not accessible today. I saved the text but do not have a workable link. It should appear in the archives sometime in the next few days.