McConnell leads 50% to 39%; 58% approve of job performance

Senator Mitch McConnell’s reelection campaign released results of a statewide survey showing McConnell with a 50% to 39% lead over Democrat Bruce Lunsford.  The survey of 600 registered voters was conducted by Voter/Consumer Research June 15-17, and has a margin of error of +/- 4.1%.  In addition to McConnell’s 11% lead, the survey showed that 58% of Kentuckians approve of the job McConnell is doing as Senator.  

McConnell enjoys strong support in all of Kentucky’s regions.  The survey found McConnell leading Lunsford by nine points in the Lexington media market (50% to 41%); nine points in the Louisville media market (51% to 42%); seven points in the Charleston and Cincinnati markets (46% to 39%); and a whopping 20 points in media markets covering Western Kentucky (54% to 34%).

“Senator McConnell’s job approval is high across all regions and demographics, including among Democrats.  Currently, more Democrats approve of the job he is doing than disapprove,” pollsters Jan van Lohuizen and Brenda Wigger said in a memo released outlining the survey’s findings.

“There has been a variety of public polling released…showing the Senate race to be very competitive, if not dead even.  These polls have shown Senator McConnell underperforming in Louisville, but doing very well in the Eastern Kentucky counties that make up the Charleston and Knoxville [media markets].  Similarly, public polling has shown Senator McConnell doing better in Eastern Kentucky than he is in Western Kentucky counties.  Those findings run counter to election returns from the past two decades and are a primary flaw with some of the recently released data to the public,” the pollsters added.

The 50% to 39% margin for McConnell is identical to a Voter/Consumer Research Survey taken for the McConnell Senate Committee in May. 

“It appears that Bruce Lunsford has experienced the old ‘dead cat bounce’ since winning the May primary,” said McConnell Campaign Representative Justin Brasell.  “A majority of Kentuckians think Mitch McConnell is doing a good job, and they plan to support Sen. McConnell for reelection this November.  We plan on working hard to earn their support”

The Voter/Consumer Research Survey also tested the Presidential race in Kentucky and found John McCain leading Barack Obama 50% to 31%.  Non-partisan political analyst Larry Sabato told the Courier-Journal newspaper in Louisville on June 16 that he believes Lunsford has no chance of winning the Kentucky Senate race, and that he discounted recent public surveys showing a closer race.

"Here's the giant problem.  Barack Obama has correctly written off Kentucky. It's a (John) McCain state ... there will be no coattails for Lunsford,” Sabato was quoted as saying.

“It’s a shame Lunsford took his and Obama’s energy plan to Mayfield today, after we finished our polling last night,” Brasell said.  “I suspect their plan to raise taxes, raise prices, and beg the Middle East for more oil would have helped our support even more in Western Kentucky.”

Left: Lunsford's horse "Drilling for Oil" sprints for the finish.  Right: ostrich racing.

Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford took his “No Solutions, No Problem!” tour to Mayfield today, where he continued to ignore what Senator Mitch McConnell, a vast majority of Kentuckians, and a growing number of elected officials in Washington and around the country know – the U.S. needs to produce more of its own energy to lower gas prices.

Today’s Washington Post called the Lunsford-Obama plan “election-year symbolism,” saying it was “probably just as well” the plan had died in the Senate and that it “would have had little or no impact on prices at the gas pump.”

Lunsford actually owns a race horse called ‘Drilling for Oil.’  Unfortunately, he refuses to listen to his horse when it comes to a rational energy policy for America.  Lunsford opposes a responsible expansion of domestic energy production, even though it is environmentally safe to do so in regions currently off limits for production.

“Bruce Lunsford might want to switch from horses to ostriches, as he prefers sticking his head in the sand while hoping Middle Eastern countries will bail us out of this crisis.  That is beyond irresponsible at a time when gas is over $4 a gallon,” McConnell Campaign Representative Justin Brasell said.

Lunsford’s out-of-touch refusal to embrace increased domestic production fits perfectly with Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama’s view of gas prices.  Obama told a reporter on June 10 that he preferred a “gradual increase” to the cost Americans pay at the pump.  (CNBC's “Special Report,” 6/10/08)

“How anyone or any party could actually prefer higher gas prices is beyond comprehension.  We welcome Bruce Lunsford’s embrace of Obama’s plan to raise taxes, raise prices, and raise the ire of every voter in this state,” Brasell said.  “Bruce Lunsford wants to beg the Middle East for more oil and raise taxes.  Mitch McConnell wants to pursue alternative forms of energy and responsibly produce more energy at home to lower prices.  This will be a simple choice for voters come November.”

Senator Mitch McConnell has been promoting an energy plan for several weeks that would increase domestic supply through environmentally responsible domestic energy exploration rather than counting on oil-rich Middle East nations to bail out the U.S.

“How much gas has Bruce Lunsford burned driving around telling people that he’s got absolutely no idea what to do about higher gas prices? Kentuckians are looking for solutions, not silly rhetoric and empty-headed talking points provided by Lunsford’s liberal puppet masters in Washington D.C” Brasell said.

From WKYX Radio:

US Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says Republicans and Democrats need to come together to find a solution to high gas prices . McConnell says "The common-sense solution to this problem ... is a combination of energy exploration here in the U.S. to bring down prices in the short-term married to a long-term strategy of energy independence through the development of clean energy technologies." But he says Democrats seem unwilling to hear that. He noted that Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said he prefers a "gradual adjustment." As he put it: "I haven't heard a single one of them say so yet, but I can't imagine they agree with their nominee, that what Americans really needed was a gradual adjustment to $4 a gallon gasoline."

From an editorial in today's Washington Post:

A Democratic energy bill has died in the Senate -- and it's probably just as well. For the most part, it was election-year symbolism. Several provisions, such as a Justice Department investigation of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, a windfall profits tax and an end to certain oil industry tax breaks, might have stuck it to alleged culprits, but they would have had little or no impact on prices at the gas pump.

Congress cannot repeal the law of supply and demand. In real terms, the price of crude oil has topped the postwar record set in 1980. Between these two peaks, oil was cheap -- encouraging Americans to adopt fuel consumption habits that are painful to sustain now. And we were not the only ones gassing up; India, China and other rapidly growing developing nations began consuming more as well. Especially in the past two years, global demand has begun to outstrip supply -- as production stagnated or declined slightly in Mexico, Venezuela, the North Sea and even Saudi Arabia. According to BP, the international oil company, global oil production fell by 126,000 barrels a day in 2007, while consumption grew by a million barrels a day. Notably, all of last year's increase came in countries other than the United States and Europe, where demand actually went down a bit. Prospects are for more of the same, and the commodities markets reflect that.

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You can read the entire editorial here.