Joe Donnelly, Mike Pence on top in new poll by Jon Murray and Chris Sikich, Indianapolis Star
A new poll shows a tight U.S. Senate race between Democrat Joe Donnelly and Republican Richard Mourdock among likely voters, but it also confirms a wide lead by U.S. Rep. Mike Pence in the contest for Indiana governor.
U.S. Rep. Donnelly led State Treasurer Mourdock 40 percent to 38 percent in the Howey/DePauw Indiana Battleground Poll, conducted in the past week by a bipartisan polling team for Howey Politics Indiana, a political newsletter.
Libertarian Andrew Horning posted 7 percent support, high for a third-party candidate.
Along with Donnelly’s slim lead — which is within the poll’s margin of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points — the results provide further evidence that some supporters of U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, whom Mourdock defeated in the primary, still are reluctant to back the Republican nominee.
“Mourdock defeated an incumbent from his own party, and that likely has put him in a bad light among some members of his party,” said Andy Downs, director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics. “Donnelly’s generally moderate image is giving some of those unhappy Republicans a place to go. Additionally, the strong showing from Andrew Horning suggests that he is picking up Republican support.”
