Mike Johanns said Thursday he's not concerned about a new Senate poll that suggests his lead over Scott Kleeb has dropped from 25 points to 14.
DON WALTON / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Wednesday, October 1, 2008 7:00 pm
Mike Johanns said Thursday he’s not concerned about a new Senate poll that suggests his lead over Scott Kleeb has dropped from 25 points to 14.
“If 30 days before the election, I’m ahead by double digits, I think every Senate candidate in the nation would trade places with me,” Johanns said.
Kleeb said the survey by Rasmussen Reports is evidence of his momentum in the closing weeks of the Senate match.
“We’ve made tremendous gains with independents,” the Democratic nominee said, pointing to Rasmussen figures that showed him leading among nonpartisan voters by 43 percent to 35 percent.
Johanns, the Republican nominee, led overall by 52 percent to 38 percent.
The 25-point spread occurred in a telephone survey by Rasmussen in July.
The newest poll of 500 likely voters was conducted Tuesday in the wake of this week’s record Wall Street stock market plunge.
“It was an unusual week,” Johanns said. “You take a poll on any given day and you get different results.
“But we always have said this race would tighten.”
Kleeb said the poll results show he still has time to catch Johanns before the Nov. 4 election.
“What happened this week not only in terms of the financial crisis, but in issue after issue, demonstrates what I’ve been suggesting,” Kleeb said.
“We can do better than this.”
Reach Don Walton at 473-7248 or at dwalton@journalstar.com.