Polls show hot prez race, not-so-hot Senate contest

The newest polls show that the presidential race remains hotly contested in New Mexico, but in the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Tom Udall is maintaining a strong lead.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama had a five-point lead over Republican opponent John McCain in New Mexico in the latest Rasmussen Reports poll, released Friday. He was up 46 percent to 41 percent. Last month, Obama led in the group’s poll by eight points, and in May, he led by nine.

The newest telephone survey of 700 likely voters was conducted Thursday and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

Both candidates were viewed favorably in the latest poll by 57 percent of those surveyed. Obama was viewed unfavorably by 41 percent, while McCain was viewed unfavorably by 39 percent.

Some 31 percent had a very favorable opinion of Obama, while 21 percent had a very favorable opinion of McCain. Both were viewed as very unfavorable by 21 percent of those surveyed.

Obama led McCain among a growing and important segment of the New Mexico population — registered independents — by five points in the newest poll.

In the U.S. Senate race, Udall had a 25-point advantage over Republican Steve Pearce. He led 59 percent to 34 percent in the latest Rasmussen reports poll, which was conducted at the same time as the presidential poll and has the same sample size and margin of error.

In June, Udall led in the group’s poll by 28 points. In May, he led by 16.

In the new poll, Udall had a 32-point advantage among voters not affiliated with the Democratic and Republican parties, up 13 points from June, but his Republican support dropped to 18 percent from June’s 26 percent. Between June and July, Udall lost 10 points among men — he leads among men in the new poll by 12 points — but gained four points among women and now leads among women by 38 percent.

Udall was viewed favorably by 66 percent of those surveyed in the new poll and unfavorably by 28 percent. Pearce was viewed unfavorably by 48 percent and favorably by 46 percent.

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