Posted on 06/09/2008 6:43:40 PM PDT by Red Steel
United States Senator John Cornyn has opened a seventeen percentage point lead in his bid for re-election. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state find Cornyn leading Democratic state legislator Rick Noriega 52% to 35%. That’s a significant improvement for the incumbent from a month ago when his lead dwindled to four percentage points.
Cornyn is supported by 86% of Republicans and has a two-to-one edge among unaffiliated voters. Last month, his lead among the unaffiliateds was just four percentage points. Noreiga attracts 72% of Democrats, down from 81% a month ago.
The Democrat leads among voters under 30, reflecting a nationwide trend. He is competitive among those who earn less than $40,000 a year. However, Cornyn has the advantage among adults over 30 and those with annual incomes topping $40,000.
Incumbents who poll below 50% are generally considered vulnerable. Cornyn has moved slightly above that threshold, but many of his colleagues remain in challenging races. At least ten Republican Senate seats are potentially in play for Democrats including seats in Alaska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, New Mexico, Colorado, Mississippi, Minnesota, Virginia, and Kentucky. So far, just two Democratic incumbents are polling below 50%--Mary Landrieu in Louisiana and Frank Lautenberg in New Jersey.
In Texas, Cornyn is viewed favorably by 56% of the state’s likely voters, up six points from a month ago. He is viewed unfavorably by 31%.
Noreiga earns positive reviews from 43% and negative assessments from 39%. Those figures are little changed.
Texas voters don’t have firm opinions of either candidate, suggesting limited knowledge of who these men really are. Just 16% have a Very Favorable opinion of the incumbent and 14% have a Very Unfavorable view. Eleven percent (11%) have a Very Favorable opinion of Noreiga while 17% have a Very Unfavorable opinion.
Thirty-four percent (34%) of voters say the state’s Republican Governor, Rick Perry, is doing a good or excellent job. Twenty-seven percent (27%) say he is doing a poor job. Those figures have changed little.
Forty percent (40%) say President George W. Bush is doing a good or an excellent job while another 40% rate his performance as poor.
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You can tell from the negatives alone this will be about a 61-39% race for Cornyn.
No, but Pat Moynihan’s Republican opponent for the Senate in NY in 1994 was a Castro.
I am surprised that 56 percent of TX voters even know who Cornyn is, but this is good polling news, and let’s hope it is accurate.
In the 2002 off presidential election Crpnyn got 55% against Ron Kirk @ 43% with the remainder scattered among three others.
Good for Cornyn. I believe the conventional wisdom is wrong this year as it tends to be. Obama is going to send a lot of fence sitter Democrats to vote GOP this year. He can not win with the Demographics he has been getting. He can not win as a hate whitey, big taxes, big socialism, anti military, pro homosexual marriage, radical abortion rights supporter. It just isn’t going to happen and he is going to reveal the Democrat party leadership as the bunch of nut jobs they are.
He is a giant liberal magnifying lens and will have negative coattails. McCain will unify conservatives behind him but Obama will lose the working class whites and Hispanics.
With all the Hispanic’s in Texas, I am afraid it will be a lot closer than that.
Cornyn was the Attorney General when Texas sued me for never missing a child support payment. They had failed to enter my payments in their leger book. After I provided his attorneys with copies of the canceled checks, with their stamp and my ex-wife’s signature....he ordered that his office continue the case.
Now, his opponent may be worse, don’t know for sure.
Bernadette Castro was the biggest clown candidate ever fielded by the NY GOP in the 20th century. She was given the nod as the “sacrificial lamb” due to her family’s years of contributions to the party.
Well, OK. Cornyn 60.9% - Noriega 39.1%
I was thinking even closer than that!
Au contraire. Two words: Pierre Rinfret.
LOL I had forgotten about Pee Air WinFart!
Of course, I came close to awarding the honor to Jeanine Pirro, but you did say 20th century.
Maybe I’ll change my name to Pol Pot and run for Governor.
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