Another day, another poll in the Rossi-Murray race, and this one is extremely interesting. CNN/Time/Opinion Research shows Murray leading Rossi 53 percent to 44 percent among likely voters.
This result can’t be dismissed or explained away by Republicans. This is the third poll showing Sen. Patty Murray with the lead over Dino Rossi (following the Fairbanks and Elway polls), so it's not an outlier. And CNN also polled at the same time on the U.S. Senate and governors races in Nevada and Ohio, and those polls showed Republicans doing very well, consistent with other polls.
The data now shows there has been a dramatic shift in this race in favor of Murray. What is so odd about this is it goes against the grain of all the other polling we are seeing across the country. The Republican generic ballot lead remains strong, and Republican candidates are maintaining their leads in races across the country. In addition, I have heard of Republican polling for other GOP candidates in Washington state that showed those candidates doing very well.
One is left to conclude that something unique is happening in our Senate race that defies the national Republican tide. Has the Murray campaign’s advertising really been so effective as to cause this shift?
There are rumors of other polls in the field. It will be fascinating to see if they confirm or contradict this surprising trend.
