DSCC Poll--Gordon Smith Tanking by: torridjoe Tue Jul 17, 2007 at 12:26:39 PM PDT

(D'oh--I'll get this front paging thing right sooner or later.... - promoted by torridjoe) tipped by BlueO and sourced by StopGordonSmith.com, the word is out today on a poll done in June by Grove Insight for the DSCC...and the news for Gordon Smith is flatly terrible... {look out below!}

torridjoe :: DSCC Poll--Gordon Smith Tanking

Smith’s approval rating has dropped precipitously since the beginning of the year, with only 37% of likely Oregon voters now approving of his job performance and 54% disapproving. In another sign of trouble for the Republican Senator, only 34% of voters say they will vote to re-elect him and 45% say they will consider voting or will vote to replace him with someone else. “Oregonians have been paying close attention to Gordon Smith’s election year makeover and they’re just not buying it,” DSCC spokesman Matthew Miller said. “Gordon Smith has proven he knows how to read a poll, but Oregonians want a Senator who will stand up for them all the time, and not just when campaign season rolls around.” Smith’s job approval rating has dropped 9 points since earlier this year – in a poll taken for the DSCC in February and previously released, 46% Oregonians approved of Smith’s job performance, with 43% disapproving. Both polls were taken by Grove Insight. The latest poll of 500 likely voters was taken from May 31 to June 3 and has a margin of error of 4.4%. As I mentioned at the Smith site, these numbers don't quite match up with the latest from SurveyUSA, showing a far greater drop since February when the two pollsters were in general congruence. But with a second outlet to get numbers from (and even given the partisan intent of those who commissioned it), it's hard not to conclude that Smith's appeal is definitely on the decline, and his attempt to appear to be against the war is seemingly not working--and may even be having the opposite effect, as voters begin to wonder if they're being played. There's a possibility Smith might gain some traction if he validates his cosponsorship of the Reed/Levin withdrawal amendment to be debated today (and tonight, and tomorrow) with a Yes vote. It would be his first real vote for a binding timetable of withdrawal, and would--if I'm honest--make it more difficult going forward to paint Smith as a continuing enabler of the war. Of course, the damage has been done, and Smith has spent quite a bit of time dithering and equivocating while more men and women fell in combat. And that's certainly not the only reason Smith is vulnerable; read the rest of the StopSmith site and find out more.

Tags: Senate, polling, DSCC, Gordon Smith, 2008 Elections, (All Tags)

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