Is that a shrub in your pocket...
Friday, November 03, 2006
Infamous Zogby Poll
As with movies, some polls are released, and some escape. The infamous Zogby do-over in the NY-25th has finally escaped. Apparently Zogby figured, "what the hell, I'll release the damn thing myself."
As anticipated (based on the whiny Walsh reaction), the poll shows Democratic challenger Dan Maffei with a 4 point lead - and a rather amazing 14% still undecided. With the margin of error pegged at +/- 4.5%, this poll pretty much shows what we all suspected - this race is a dead heat going into the final weekend of the campaign. Crosstabs (pdf) are here.
The war in Iraq was cited as an important factor in deciding for whom to vote for Congress in the 25th District, and the Zogby poll showed it gave Maffei an advantage. Among those who said it was "very important" in deciding their vote, 49% said they supported Maffei, while 44% said they supported Walsh.
[...]
Just 41% said they think Walsh deserves to be reelected, while 49% said they think it is time for someone new. The Zogby survey showed there is widespread discontent in the district about the direction in which the nation is head—just 24% said things are going in the right direction, while 65% said they think things are off on the wrong track. Asked about how things are going locally, 40% said things are headed in the right direction, while 50% said they think things are off on the wrong track.
Walsh has a huge money advantage, was (predictably) endorsed by the Syracuse Post-Standard (a rather limp endorsement at that), and has the Republican GOTV machine goose stepping behind him all the way, but the fact that Maffei is still in this thing so late in the game must have Walsh - who has come to think of his office as an entitlement, rather than public service - very angry and confused.
