Polls Indicate Northup’s Grip on Ky. 3 Seat May Be Loosening [View All]

Polls Indicate Northup’s Grip on Ky. 3 Seat May Be Loosening

By Kathleen Hunter 2 hours, 32 minutes ago

CQPolitics.com has changed its rating on the race in Kentucky’s 3rd Congressional District to Leans Republican from Republican Favored.


Kentucky Rep. Anne M. Northup (news, bio, voting record)’s strong fundraising skills, lengthy legislative record — and especially her efforts as an Appropriations Committee member to deliver federal funds home — have enabled her over a five-term career to defy at least a slight Democratic lean in her Louisville-based 3rd District.

Those same factors made her the favorite this year, as Democratic primary voters gambled on alternative newspaper publisher John Yarmuth, whose years of columns have provided campaign fodder for Northup and Republican allies.

But Yarmuth has campaigned undaunted, and the 3rd District is affected by the toxic political climate hurting Republicans nationally.

While polls have varied greatly in this volatile political environment, one released by Survey USA Oct. 19 raised eyebrows in the 3rd: It showed the contenders running neck-and-neck, with 48 percent of respondents saying they supported Yarmuth and 47 percent backing Northup. Yarmuth’s slight lead was within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/20061023/pl_cq_politics/pollsindicatenorthupsgriponky3seatmaybeloosening