Stevens and McCain - Recent Alaska Polling

Alaska Senate Race - The Polling Angle

Since Senator Stevens was indicted and plead not guilty in connection with the federal case of forbidden quid pro quo, several polling firms have taken the pulse of Alaskans thinking about voting in the senate and presidential elections. Things are not looking good for the long-time senator. In June, Stevens was up by 2 in a Rasmussen poll. By July 17, Mark Begich gained 10 points over Stevens for an 8-point lead, and by July 30, that lead widened to 13 points (37-50).

This is obviously good news for senate Democrats, but how is it affecting the national GOP mood? What does this mean for McCain? Well . . . you might think that McCain's lead would shrink a bit with all this bad news about the Republican senator, but instead, McCain's lead is growing. Go figure! (OK, so not totally crazy, can you say oil prices, oil drilling, and most recently, tire pressure gauges?) McCain was up by only 4 points in this traditionally red state back in June. By July 17, as Stevens fell farther behind, McCain's lead over Obama didn't shrink at all. It grew. And by July 30, with Stevens really suffering, McCain widened his lead to 6 points.  So, bad news for the NRSC and good news for the RNC.