Rasmussen: Akin Trails McCaskill By Ten Points In Missouri
The immediate impact of Todd Akin’s remarks about rape and abortion, and his determination to stay in the race despite the fact that his entire party wanted him to drop out, is becoming quite apparent via a new Rasmussen poll that puts Akin ten points behind embattled incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill:
What a difference one TV interview can make. Embattled Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill has now jumped to a 10-point lead over her Republican challenger, Congressman Todd Akin, in Missouri’s U.S. Senate race. Most Missouri Republicans want Akin to quit the race while most Missouri Democrats want him to stay.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the Show Me State finds McCaskill earning 48% support to Akin’s 38%. Nine percent (9%) like some other candidate in the race, and five percent (5%) are undecided
Looking deeper in to the poll, we see that Akin’s favorability numbers are quite simply disastrous:
That’s a favorable/unfavorable for Akin of 35/63, with the vast majority of the unfavorable number coming from those responding “very unfavorable.” McCaskill meanwhile, who has had image problems of her own in the state, is at 48/48, much better than it has been in the past. It was only a week or so ago, that SurveyUSA had Akin leading by eleven points, so this is massive drop-off. Indeed, it’s likely that other polls will find even worse numbers since their samples don’t tilt Republican as much as Rasmussen’s do. As of now, the RCP Average has swung to McCaskill’s favor and shows her with an average lead of +4.5 in the race. This is powerful ammunition in the hands of those still working on finding a way to convince Akin to get out of the race.
Wow … just wow.
I’m stunned that Akin’s comments caused this much of a shift. It’s not as if – after all these years – the people of Missouri didn’t know who Akin is and what his views are.
I hope he stays on.
It is Rasmussen, so it is likely a 112-15 point lead.
Damn…….
@al-Ameda: “It’s not as if – after all these years – the people of Missouri didn’t know who Akin is and what his views are.”
It’s easy to forget, but most right wingers aren’t that crazy. The problem is that almost all of the internal and external forces that used to keep the crazy under control in conservatism have disappeared.
Mike
@MBunge:
Thanks Mike, this is certainly a reminder.
@al-Ameda: I can believe that most of the state does not know much about Akins. He was a Congresscritter from a heavily Republican leaning district. And IIRC, most of that district is not in a major statewide media market.
I’m a political junkie who lives in Western Pennsylvania, but if you ask me if I know much about Rep. Platt (R-Congress middle of PA), I don’t know much besides that he is an extremely conservative Republican who fits his district and his greatest electoral fear is always a right wing primary challenge rather than a general election challenge. The converse applies to Rep. Bob Bradley (D-Philly) — I know that he exists and I can make some assumptions about his political incentives but that is about it.
And I am a political junkie, not a politics is a pain in the ass, and why can’t they all sit down in a room and hash things out over lunch voter… and it is those voters who are providing a 15% to 20% point swing in the polling this week.
@al-Ameda: the crazy part isn’t the pro-life position, even in the case ofmrapemor incest. That’s pretty mainstream conservative stuff, and I doubt many people are surprised.
The crazy part is the distinction of legitimate rape, and the belief that women have some kind of biological shield, with the implication that if they got pregnant, they liked it. That type of stuff didn’t come up in the primary.
@Gustopher:
I think pro-life might have gone a bridge too far with “no exceptions.” I don’t think people, nationally, really understood that was their legislative plan.
If you want to talk about crazy: The really crazy part is that he seems to believe he’s on a mission from God. Whether you can discourage from running someone who thinks he’s divinely sanctioned is a significant issue.
I would not be surprised if Rasmussen wasn’t going for exactly this result, to show Akin he’s trailing and can’t win.
@al-Ameda:
I am a little bit shocked too. Tho I was aware what a bat-sh!t whacko he is. I always just thought “Hey, it’s Missery, all of my neighbors are bat-sh!t whacko too.”
Does this mean I have to apologize to them?
Shifting the topic a bit, why does McCaskill have such high unfavorables? I’ve only seen her in interviews here and there, and she’s impressed me with her intelligence and positions. (Hm, have I answered my own question?) Is it just the lot in life of a D in Missouri?
Even Claire McCaskill doesn’t believe the poll.
Claire McCaskill
@clairecmc
Rasmussen poll made me laugh out loud. If anyone believes that, I just turned 29. Sneaky stuff. http://bit.ly/SscVZf
Perhaps Gallup actually did make the poll showing him even as slanted as possible to trick Ol’ Rapey?
It is surprising, and in a good way (there are limits!).