Beebe leads Hutchinson in new Arkansas gubernatorial poll

[TheresNoMoney]

http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2005/11/03/News/330321.html

Mike Beebe 47%
Asa Hutchinson 40%
Other 3%
Undecided 11%

Bush approval rating at 38%.

[© tweed]

The Arkansas Poll?  Not a very well known pollster.  Still, this isn't bad news.

[tarheel-leftist85]

I love Arkansans.

[jokerman]

Excellent!!!

[Sam Spade]

The University of Arkansas did a poll towards the end of last year's campaign (10/20/04) that had Bush +7 (I had to look this one up), not out of the MOE from the +10% advantage Bush had in Arkansas last year.

However, that's the only other poll I've ever seen out of them.  And it is a University poll as well.

But it is still a poll, one that is welcome for a Governor's race that I expect to be in the top-tier of governor's races nationwide.

[ian]

Well, I guess I just have to admit my stupidity.  Alright, I was wrong.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

Just wait for the campaign to really get in gear.  Go ASA!!!!!!

[The Duke]

Asa is tremendously unpopular in Arkansas, and he lost to Pryor for a reason.  He will lose this race, I think.

[minionofmidas]

The University of Arkansas did a poll towards the end of last year's campaign (10/20/04) that had Bush +7 (I had to look this one up), not out of the MOE from the +10% advantage Bush had in Arkansas last year.

However, that's the only other poll I've ever seen out of them.  And it is a University poll as well.

But it is still a poll, one that is welcome for a Governor's race that I expect to be in the top-tier of governor's races nationwide.

If that is the poll I think I remember (not sure though), its  internals were utterly weird.

[Democratic Hawk]

Good

Dave

[socaldem]

Asa is tremendously unpopular in Arkansas, and he lost to Pryor for a reason.  He will lose this race, I think.

That was Tim Hutchinson...

Asa is supposed to be the popular and more politically savvy of the two.

Once the congressman from the GOP bastion of NW Arkansas, Asa was appointed in 2001 to head the DEA, which was subsequently folded into DHS.  He then became undersecretary at DHS and, in somewhat of a snub, was passed over after Ridge's retirement.  That experience, combined with his relatively laissez-faire attitude towards border protection at the department, have tarnished his reputation.

Bebee faces a primary challenge from a Clinton admin official.  I wonder if that'll actually help him by distancing his candidacy from Clinton-style liberalism....

[ian]

My poli sci teacher says that there were polls released before this, giving Asa the edge, but they apparently weren't very good.  GO BEEBE!