Bill Shaheen’s "Drug Baiting" of Obama Hurts Wife’s Senate Campaign

Though the singular poll hardly guarantees success for the one-term senator, it was a major bright spot after at least six months of abysmal poll numbers for Sununu. Even the American Research Group had Sununu trailing 28 points behind Shaheen in their June 2007 poll and behind by 5 points in September.

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Dick Bennett, president of American Research Group, told CQ Politics that he believes some poll respondents were influenced by the Shaheen flap because Democratic voters, especially those supporting Obama, may have negatively reacted to reminders that the Shaheen family has already signed on to Clinton's campaign.

"Democrats get touchy during presidential contests," Bennett said. "And if you look at the breakdown by party, it would be closer if Shaheen's support among Democrats equaled Sununu's support among Republicans."

A whopping 93 percent of Republicans said they supported Sununu while 79 percent of Democrats pledged their vote for Shaheen.

Bennett warned both campaigns that if voters leave a side, one can't be certain they'll return.