Twelve weeks out Rasmussen is calling Senator Chuck Grassley’s seat a solid seat for the GOP. A poll released yesterday by Rasmussen shows Grassley leading his challenger, Roxanne Conlin, by 20 points:
Longtime Republican Senator Charles Grassley remains comfortably out front in his bid for a sixth term in Iowa’s U.S. Senate race.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Iowa finds Grassley earning 55% support, while his Democratic challenger, Roxanne Conlin, picks up 35% of the vote. Five percent (5%) favor some other candidate, and six percent (6%) are undecided.
In June, Grassley held a similar 54% to 37% lead over Conlin, a former U.S. attorney and the winner of that month’s Democratic Primary in the state.
In surveys back to February, Grassley has earned 53% to 55% support in matchups with Conlin. She has captured 36% to 40% in that same period….
… Eighty-one percent (81%) of Iowa voters regard Grassley as a conservative, while 50% describe Conlin as a liberal. Another 24% view her as a moderate.
Most of the state’s voters (56%) see Grassley’s views as mainstream, but 29% think they are extreme.
However, only 34% say Conlin’s views are in the mainstream, while 42% feel they are extreme…
…Grassley earns 90% support from GOP voters. Colin gets 77% of the vote from Democrats. Voters not affiliated with either major party favor the Republican by a two-to-one margin.
The 24% who consider Conlin as a moderate must live in Johnson County or don’t know what the word means. I know some would say the same about Grassley being labeled a conservative. I would say he mostly is though I certainly don’t agree with every vote he has made. I do think he was spot on with his vote against confirming Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. I also find it interesting that 23% of Democrats do not support Conlin, but I don’t see moderate or blue dog Democrats in Iowa. On the other hand when you look at the margins that both Senator Grassley and Senator Tom Harkin have won their seats by in recent reelection bids it is pretty clear that we have a purple mindset. Perhaps we like having our Senators cancel each others votes out.
Eric Woolson, spokesperson for Senator Chuck Grassley’s campaign said they aren’t resting on their laurels because of one poll, but recognizes they have reason to be confident:
We never rely on the results of a single poll but this one certainly reflects previous credible polls. It’s another indication that Iowans value Chuck Grassley’s work to control government spending and provide a check and balance against Washington liberals who want to expand government’s reach into every aspect of the private sector and individuals’ lives. They know he’s one of us and in touch with where Iowans are coming from. They also recognize Roxanne Conlin’s hypocrisy when she talks against tax breaks for the wealthy but personally benefits from tens of millions of dollars in tax giveaways. They know that Roxanne Conlin would be a rubber stamp for the Pelosi-Reid agenda of more spending and even bigger government.
Roxanne Conlin in the Senate is the last thing that our nation needs.