Cleland down in latest M-D poll

Greg Greene at the excellent Green[e]house Effect has a quick look at the latest Mason-Dixon numbers out of Georgia:

Sen. Max Cleland (D): 47%
Rep. Saxby Chambliss (R): 41
Undecided: 9
Sandy Thomas (Libertarian): 3

While Chambliss' numbers have remained static from the last M-D poll, Cleland has been pushed under the all-important 50 percent mark. Greene blames Chambliss' negative campaigning:

Chambliss hasn't gained any ground — his share of votes still sits at around 40 percent. If he's using a vote-suppression strategy, though, in hopes that he can drive enough independent voters home to squeak through with his base vote, he's gotten off to a good start. Cleland could have stymied that by responding more fiercely to Republican attacks on his courage — that might have driven Chambliss' favorability ratings downward, and suppressed Republican votes. The opportunity to do that, however was gone as soon as Chambliss pulled the commercial off the air last week.

However, Greene notes that considering third party candidates, winners in Georgia only need to snag 45 percent of the vote to win. So long as Cleland stays above that level he should be fine.

Posted October 21, 2002 02:59 PM | Comments (1)