I’ve been tracking the Senate races here. Many races are tight, some are blow-outs. But it sure has been fun to watch.
Through it all, I have been sure that California and Wisconsin would hold serve for the Democrats. Barbara Boxer in California is wildly popular as is Feingold in Wisconsin.
However, things might be changin’!
NPR is reporting that Russ Feingold is in trouble:
But suddenly, polls show his race to be far closer than expected.
Feingold didn’t have any trouble the last time he ran. When President Bush was winning re-election six years ago, Feingold was coasting to a third term by a solid 11 percentage point margin. But any notion that the senator would have such an easy road this year was shattered by a recent survey from Public Policy Polling, which give him a very narrow lead over an opponent who’s new to politics — Ron Johnson
And who is gonna make the difference in the Feingold/Johnson battle? Independents:
But independent voters will very likely decide this election — and that means Feingold must overcome the same concerns that have led independents’ support of President Obama to fall off.
Tim Dake, 49, is an unemployed engineer, and an independent worried about spending. Asked for his take on Feingold, he says, “I have voted for him in the past, particularly because of his objection to the Patriot Act. But the last few years, I’ve become very disenchanted with him.”
And the story may be worse for the Democrats in California:
California Democratic senator Barbara boxer is trailing Republican challenger Carly Fiorina by 2 points–47% to 45%–in a new SurveyUSA poll of likely voters released this evening. Fiorina has been closing in on Boxer–cutting the Democrat’s lead from six, to five, to four, to three points in the last four polls–but this is the first public poll showing Fiorina in the lead.
And what’s BAD news for Democrats is GREAT news for me!