Journal polls give good news to Democrats

ABQJournal started another round of election polls Sunday, with its first poll showing that the 1^st Congressional District race is as tight as can be.

Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., and Democratic challenger Patricia Madrid were tied, each with 44 percent of the vote in the poll. Some 7 percent were undecided and 5 percent said they won’t vote for either candidate. The poll, which surveyed 400 voters from Sept. 25-28, has a margin of error of about 5 percentage points.

Regardless of how the GOP spins this, it’s a huge victory for Democrats. Beating or even running a close race with an incumbent in a congressional race is quite a feat, considering that the incumbent wins something like 98 percent of the time.

Last month’s Journal poll had Wilson ahead 45-42 percent, so Madrid is gaining ground.

Another poll found that Gov. Bill Richardson has extended his lead over Republican challenger John Dendahl.

In the newest Journal poll, Richardson hit the magic 60-percent his campaign is seeking. Dendahl had 28 percent of the vote. A month ago, Richardson had 57 percent of the vote and Dendahl had 28 percent.

The poll, conducted last week, sampled 664 registered voters and has a margin of error of 3.7 percent.

Another Journal poll found that 54 percent of likely voters said Richardson’s chances of being elected president, should he run, are good or very good. Some 40 percent said his chances were not so good or that he has no chance at all.

A poll of the 2^nd Congressional District race between Republican incumbent Steve Pearce and Democratic challenger Al Kissling is planned for publication tomorrow. I’ll have complete coverage, including analysis of the poll by Brian Sanderoff, the man whose company conducted it.