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Rand Paul in Tie with Democrat Jack Conway in Kentucky Senate Race

1 year ago
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Bruce Drake
Bruce Drake
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Now that Kentucky GOP Senate candidate Rand Paul is facing general election voters, he is finding the momentum days of his primary race behind him with a new poll putting him in a tie with Democrat Jack Conway, the state's attorney general.
Paul and Conway each get 43 percent support from voters with 14 percent undecided, according to a Public Policy Polling survey conducted June 28-30.
Part of the reason appears to be that Paul's past statements, rooted in his Tea Party and libertarian beliefs, are costing him. Thirty-eight percent say that national media coverage of Paul's views has made it less likely that they would support him, compared to 29 percent who said it made them more likely, with 33 percent undecided. The margin of error is 3.9 points.
Rand PaulRepublicans (37 percent of the sample) said Paul's views made it more likely they would vote for him by a 42 percent to 22 percent margin, Democrats (52 percent of the sample) said it would make them less likely by 49 percent to 21 percent and independents (11 percent of the sample) said it would make them less likely to support Paul by 39 percent to 23 percent, (the balance in each case are undecided). However, independents overall favor Paul by 45 percent to 35 percent with 20 percent undecided.

A Rasmussen Reports poll conducted June 1 had Paul ahead by 49 percent to 41 percent.
While Paul's most controversial comments so far, casting doubts about whether he would have supported provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, had been reported in the state press, they got their biggest airing when he was grilled about them during an interview with liberal talk show host Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. Paul appeared to suggest that the law's non-discrimination provisions should not have applied to private business. He later backed off the remarks.
Sixty-eight percent of voters surveyed said they supported the Civil Rights Act and 83 percent said private businesses should not be allowed to discriminate on the basis of race.
But past comments by Paul on other subjects -- such as Medicare and health care -- have also been scrutinized within the state, with the Louisville Courier-Journal running a long piece, complete with YouTube videos, of potentially-controversial remarks Paul had made dating back to 1998.
While a plurality said all this had made it less likely they'd support Paul, 42 percent believe the press has been unfair to him while 36 percent consider the coverage fair, with 23 percent undecided. And 45 percent consider Paul's views to be "about right" while 26 percent say he is too conservative and 16 percent consider him too liberal, with 13 percent undecided.
About the same number -- 42 percent -- say Conway's views are about right, with 36 percent regarding him as too liberal and 7 percent as too conservative, with 15 percent undecided.
"The nation's interest in Rand Paul's personality has helped Conway gain supporters," said PPP's Dean Debnam. "But if Conway wants to win the election he needs to earn the votes of Kentuckians, especially within his own party, based on his own merits."
Conway is drawing 65 percent support from fellow Democrats while Paul gets 72 percent from Republicans.
Filed Under: Senate, Polls, Poll Watch, 2010 Elections, Tea Party
Tagged: 2010 Election Polls, 2010 Senate Elections, 2010 Senate Races, dailyguidance, Jack Conway, Kentucky Elections, Kentucky Senate Races, Rand Paul, Rand Paul civil rights
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7 Comments

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copperkettle3

Rand Paul is no shoe-in. This contest is up for grabs right now.

July 07 2010 at 5:41 PM Report abuse -2 rate up rate down Reply
dlouied

Seems like a slanted article - with 14 percent undecided, it gives Democrats plenty of room to lose more votes by continuing to act in unamerican ways.

July 06 2010 at 10:00 PM Report abuse +3 rate up rate down Reply
christierandall

You will see the tea bagger candidates slump quickly in the ratings as they keep putting their foot in their mouth, just like their leader Mr. Steele.

July 06 2010 at 7:03 PM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
tanirocker

Rand Paul is championing laissez-faire capitalism, in which the government takes a completely hands-off position. It was tried before...in the 1870s it led to the Long Depression, and in the 1920s, it led to the Great Depression. It's the LAST thing we need now.

July 06 2010 at 5:29 PM Report abuse -2 rate up rate down Reply
qaudi2

I love USA: Waiting for you to tell me why I should not vote for Conway

July 06 2010 at 4:52 PM Report abuse +7 rate up rate down Reply
I love USA

do not vote for conway!

July 06 2010 at 3:46 PM Report abuse -5 rate up rate down Reply
andrc657

People realize that Rand Paul, Sharron Angle, Marco Rubio and other TEA PARTY candidates supported by FOX NEWS have some bizarre ideas. For starters they want to end social security as we know it and turn it over to those Wall Street bankers who brought us the Great Recession while lining their own pockets.

July 06 2010 at 3:14 PM Report abuse +3 rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to andrc657's comment
-- Blackbelt Ron

Well this is where your "information" conflicts with the truth!
Check out Rep. Paul Ryan's web site - "A Roadmap for America's Future" and find out what the facts actually are. Oh and thanks for giving me the opportunity to highlight this fine plan. Enjoy ;-)















Jun 30, 2010 ... June 26, 2010 Paul Ryan Delivers Weekly Republican Address; June 24, 2010 A Plan for Prosperity; June 24, 2010 A Roadmap to America's Future ...

July 06 2010 at 4:28 PM Report abuse +5 rate up rate down Reply
jspe7

A great reply--have these people not learned anything from the Great Disaster known as the Bush administration? Why is this race close. Rand Paul should be getting 2 VOTES----his own and his crazy father's

July 06 2010 at 5:21 PM Report abuse -3 rate up rate down Reply

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