In a head-to-head matchup, 55 percent of Montana voters queried said they'd vote for Schweitzer, compared with just 30 percent who said they would vote for Brown, a Republican state senator from Billings.
Not surprisingly, 94 percent of people who identified as Democrats said they intended to vote for Schweitzer, but the popular one-term governor also got help from self-identified Republicans and independent voters. Nineteen percent of Republicans polled said they would vote for Schweitzer, along with
The poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc., of Washington, D.C., and for Lee Newspapers of Montana. Pollsters contacted 625 registered Montana voters by telephone from May 19 to May 21. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Brad Coker, managing director of the polling company, said Schweitzer is in a good spot for re-election.
“If you're (polling) over half, you're safe,” Coker said, referring to the 55 percent of Montanans who said they'd vote Schweitzer in the fall.
Thirteen percent of those interviewed said they weren't sure who they were voting for.
The results are unchanged from a similar poll six months ago, when, again, 55 percent of Montana voters said they would vote for Schweitzer, with 30 percent for Brown.
One central task of any campaign is making sure Montanans recognize the candidate's name - and have a favorable opinion of it. Here, too, Schweitzer has Brown beat. Some 52 percent of those polled said they knew Schweitzer's name and had a positive opinion of it. Just
21 percent said the same of Brown.
Twenty-two percent said they recognized Schweitzer's name, but had an unfavorable opinion of it; 23 percent said they knew the governor's name and had no opinion. Only 3 percent said they didn't know Schweitzer's name.
For Brown, 15 percent said they had a negative opinion of the candidate's name, while 29 percent said they recognized the name and had no opinion.
More than a third of those queried - 35 percent - said they didn't recognize Brown's name at all.
Schweitzer and Brown have primary opponents, but none has raised much money.
Through May 17, Schweitzer had raised nearly $1.4 million to Brown's $352,328. Democratic challenger Don Pogreba of Helena had raised $2,210, while Democrat Bill Fischer hadn't turned in his report. Republican Larry H. Steele of Great Falls had raised $2,043.
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)