Dem Poll Claims McCaskill Lead is in Double Diguts

Politico:

A new poll conducted for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee finds Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill with a solid double-digit lead over Todd Akin in Missouri’s Senate race.

The survey, which was shared early with POLITICO, shows the Democrat taking 47 percent, compared with 35 percent for Akin and 8 percent for Libertarian Jonathan Dine. When Dine was excluded from the poll, McCaskill led Akin by 10 points, 50 percent to 40 percent.

A major factor in McCaskill’s advantage comes from almost universal support from Democrats — 95 percent, compared with just 75 percent of Republicans who say they’re backing Akin.

This margin is slightly smaller than the 14-point lead McCaskill’s internal poll gave her yesterday, but still shows that McCaskill has a solid lead in a race that has been seen as a likely Democratic victory since Akin’s “legitimate rape” comments this summer. It also comes on the heels of the news that McCaskill raised $5.8 million this quarter, compared with $1.6 million for Akin.

The poll, conducted by Harstad Strategic Research for the DSCC, surveyed 603 likely voters in Missouri from Oct. 15 to Oct. 17.