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Capitol View®
Tom Scheck

McFadden disputes poll showing big lead for Franken

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The manager of Republican Mike McFadden’s U.S. Senate campaign is disputing a poll that shows DFL Sen. Al Franken with an 18 point lead over McFadden.

The poll conducted by Survey USA  for KSTP TV shows Franken with 55 percent support and McFadden with 37 percent.. The survey of 577 likely voters was conducted from Sept. 30 though Oct. 4.

In a press release, McFadden campaign manager Carl Kuhl acknowledges that McFadden is trailing Franken but said it’s not as bad as the Survey USA results indicate.

“First of all, this memo will not argue that Mike McFadden is tied or within the margins of Senator Franken,” Kuhl wrote. “We know we are trailing, but with the exception of SurveyUSA, polls show that McFadden is gaining on Senator Franken.

Kuhl cited polls by Rasmussen Reports and CBS News/New York Times/YouGov that show Franken’s lead in single digits. Kuhl said those two polls show the race tightening.

Kuhl also said that special interest groups backing Franken are spending heavily in the race, something he suggested would not be happening if Franken had a wide lead.

“With control of the Senate on the line, it strains credulity to believe that liberal causes would throw money at a race in which they lead by 18-points,” Kuhl wrote. “Given the stakes on November 4th, it would be political malpractice for Democrats to spend precious funds on a race they believe is over.”

A poll showing Franken with a wide lead could have ramifications for the entire ticket especially if DFL Gov. Mark Dayton is also polling well ahead of Republican Jeff Johnson. If Republicans voters believe that they can’t win either statewide race, competitive U.S. House races and legislative contests could also suffer.

Meanwhile, Democrats are also expressing some concern about the poll. DFL Party Chair Ken Martin and others have repeatedly said that polls showing their candidates with wide leads could lead DFL voters to be complacent.

Here’s Kuhl’s full memo: