Could Michele Bachmann Lose? New Poll Shows Statistical Tie With Democrat

Could Congresswoman Michele Bachmann lose her seat? A new poll shows Rep. Michele Bachmann in a statistical tie with her Democratic opponent, Jim Graves. The poll, taken at the end of August, gives Bachmann just 48% of likely voters, and Graves 46%, both within the margin of error. Bachmann, after a disastrous presidential campaign, followed by anti-Islam remarks targeting Secretary of State Clinton’s top aide, have made the 56-year old Minnesota Republican and head of the House Tea Party caucus, exceptionally vulnerable.

“Despite her national fan base and a massive war chest, Rep. Michele Bachmann may be in more danger than most suspect,” writes Alex Seitz-Wald at Salon:

Independent voters have swung against her by nearly 20 points in just two months, from a 4 percent advantage to a 15 point disadvantage. The internal poll, conducted by Democratic pollsters Greenberg Quinlan Rosner at the behest of Democrat Jim Graves’ campaign and shared with Salon, shows that Bachmann’s favorability rating has tumbled since their last survey in mid-June, and finds Graves gaining ground with independents as his name recognition grows.

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Graves’ campaign manager (and son) Adam Graves told Salon that the numbers show his candidate is well positioned to beat Bachmann. “Obviously, we’re very excited about it. The first thing that’s notable is that obviously her recent comments, the stories that she’s created for herself, have really hurt her among folks in the middle,” he said. Bachmann, who had tried to keep a lower profile after aborting her presidential bid, grabbed headlines this summer for her implication that Muslims in the U.S. government may be secret agents of the Muslim Brotherhood.

As we argued last month, Graves has the best shot at beating Bachmann of any Democrat since the congresswoman was first elected in 2006, thanks in large part to the absence of a third-party candidate. In previous races, those candidates have captured as much as 10 percent of the vote, siphoning votes away from the challenger. While some observers were skeptical that much of that 10 percent would break toward a Democrat, the Graves campaign said the new poll shows clearly that that fear has not materialized, as independents are moving toward its candidate.

In August, Bachmann, (the subject of an ugly lawsuit,) who represents a very conservative Minnesota district, was being blamed on Twitter, along with Rush Limbaugh, for contributing to an environment of hate that some said led to the tragic shooting — which left six dead, plus the shooter — at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

“Twitter users have already begun to imply that public figures like Michele Bachmann and Rush Limbaugh are somehow responsible,” The Blaze reported.

 

Related:

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McCain Slams Bachmann, Others, Over Claim Clinton Aide Part Of Muslim Brotherhood