Democrats may be losing a North Carolina “favorite” in what was thought to be a secure Democrat seat. Days after North Carolina Congressman Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington) was seen in a video confrontation with a man with a camera on a Washington street, a new poll seems to indicate the incident has damaged him with voters. The conservative leaning Civitas Institute released a flash poll Thursday that shows Etheridge slightly trailing Republican challenger Renee Ellmers. Civitas said the poll of 400 registered voters in the 2nd Congressional District shows Ellmers leads Etheridge 39 percent to 38 percent. Twelve percent said they would vote for Libertarian Tom Rose and 11 percent said they were undecided.
Etheridge isn’t the only Democrat in trouble. Republican John Boozman now holds a near two-to-one lead over Democratic incumbent Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas’ U.S. Senate race, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state. Boozman earns 61% of the vote, while Lincoln, coming off her Democratic Primary runoff win last week, picks up 32% support. Four percent (4%) favor some other candidate in the race, while just three percent (3%) remain undecided.
Lincoln, who is seeking a third term in the Senate, was reelected in 2004 with 56% of the vote. But she has been struggling politically at home since late last year following her procedural vote that kept the national health care bill alive in the Senate.
Voters in Arkansas have consistently opposed the health care bill more strongly than voters in much of the rest of the country. Sixty-five percent (65%) of voters in the state now favor repeal of the health care bill, while 30% oppose repeal. This includes 57% who Strongly Favor repeal and 20% who are Strongly Opposed.
Eighty-nine percent (89%) of the much-larger group that Strongly Favors repeal support Boozman, a U.S. congressman who, like all Republicans, voted against the health care bill. Sixty-two percent (62%) of those who Strongly Oppose repeal back Lincoln.
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