Susana Martinez (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
A day after dueling polls from the gubernatorial candidates showed Republican Susana Martinez leading Democrat Diane Denish by either 1 point or eight points, a new poll has Martinez leading by 10 points.
Martinez leads 52 percent to 42 percent in the Rasmussen Reports poll released today. Two percent of those surveyed said they prefer another candidate, and 4 percent were undecided.
The survey of 750 likely voters was conducted Sunday. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The results are fairly consistent with the results of other Rasmussen Reports polls conducted since August. Denish’s support has ranged in that time from 41 percent to 43 percent, while Martinez’s has ranged from 48 percent to 52 percent.
The company’s last poll of the race – conducted earlier this month – had Martinez leading by 9 points.
The new poll’s testing of Gov. Bill Richardson’s approval rating is an indicator of one reason why Martinez is ahead. Just 39 percent said they approve of Richardson’s job performance, while 57 percent disapprove. Martinez has worked hard to tie Denish to Richardson throughout the election cycle.
Martinez has one weakness in the poll: She has a higher percentage of soft supporters than does Denish. While 93 percent of those who said they support Denish were certain of how they’ll vote, the same was true for fewer Martinez supporters – 86 percent.
On the flip side, Martinez’s support within her own party is more solid than is Denish’s in her party. While 90 percent of Republicans surveyed said they back Martinez, 73 percent of Democrats said they back Denish.
Martinez has a four-to-one edge in the poll among voters who aren’t Democrats or Republicans.