Todd Akin Hurting Romney/Ryan In Missouri?
A new poll seems to indicate that the Todd Akin controversy is hurting the Republican ticket in the State Of Missouri:
As the controversy over Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin’s “legitimate rape” comment continues, Mitt Romney’s lead in Missouri has vanished.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Missouri Voters finds President Obama with 47% support to Romney’s 46%. Three percent (3%) favor some other candidate in the race, and three percent (3%) more are undecided.
The last Rasmussen poll had Romney up by six, and the one before that had Romney up by seven, so this is a significant change that many indicate trouble for the Republican ticket in a swing state that seemed to be turning red as the campaign went on. The current RCP Average is still Romney +4.7, but as the chart indicates, the race was moving solidly in Romney’s direction until the Akin controversy hit:
It’s hard to tell whether this poll is an indication of a new trend, or an immediate, albeit temporary, reaction to the Akin controversy that won’t last very long. We’ll need to see if this trend continues in future polling in the state, and if it’s replicated in polls by other pollsters. If that happens, then Missouri will become a far bigger battle for Romney and Ryan than they were likely anticipating, and the path to victory will become even more precarious.
It’s a bit early to tell what Akin’s impact will be in MO, but I suspect the longer he hangs around (their necks, like an albatross), the more damage he’s going to do to Romney/Ryan simply by forcing the discussion about how similar Akin’s views are to theirs.
Mitt’s tried to dodge uncomfortable questions by telling people to stop asking about his taxes, stop asking about his business background, and now to stop asking about his views on abortion. It’s not going to work.
Romney’s campaign is telling local TV stations not to ask questions about Akin. Way to man up Mitt…
Rasmussen poll.
Nuff said.
Given how spectacularly he screwed up an answer to an easily anticipated question I very much doubt he is a one hit wonder.
MO isn’t flipping unless Romney totally collapses.
What pro-choice woman can vote for that ticket?
Which younger voters are going to vote for that ticket?
If Romney/Ryan are limited to older white males, and pro-life women, that’s a small coalition with which to run and win.