Home  >  Montana  >  MT: Latest poll may signal trouble for Tester

MT: Latest poll may signal trouble for Tester

By   /   September 24, 2012  /   6 Comments

By Dustin Hurst | Watchdog.org

TESTER: An independent poll shows Rehberg ahead in race for U.S. Senate.

HELENA — At some point, Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester will hit the panic button, right?

In nearly all polls up to this point in his re-election campaign, he’s been trailing U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, a Republican, by a few points. But Rasmussen Reports, a Republican-leaning firm, provided most of them.

Over the weekend, however, a new poll by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research on behalf of a Montana newspaper consortium found what Rasmussen has said all along: Rehberg is likely the one to beat in this snug U.S. Senate race.

In the poll of 625 registered voters conducted Sept. 17-19, Rehberg earned 45 percent of  respondents, while Tester grabbed 42 percent. Mason-Dixon Polling and Research is an independent firm that conducts polling for media outlets.

Darby Libertarian Dan Cox, the wild card in the race, notched a mere 1 percent. Another 6 percent remain undecided.

Cox’s candidacy continues to raises questions for Rehberg. Libertarians typically pull votes from Republicans and an earlier poll had Cox at 8 percent, a significant portion and enough to swing the entire election.

The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points, meaning this race could still tip either way.

Six critical weeks remain until Election Day. The candidates will debate three times between now and Nov. 6.

 Contact Dustin Hurst at Dustin@Watchdog.org or on Twitter @DustinHurst handle. 

Please, feel free to "steal our stuff"! Just remember to credit Watchdog.org. Find out more

Dustin Hurst

  • Mike Wilsin

    Bye bye Testercal..

  • http://www.facebook.com/biggy.trout Biggy Trout

    why should there be trouble ahead for Tester ? he only spent 6 trillion
    dollars that we didn’t have and voted for obamacare that will cost
    1200-2400 bux for anybody who doesn’t buy healthcare. Nah, a pittance,
    no trouble.

  • http://www.facebook.com/curtis.barrow.7 Curtis Barrow

    Testor won over Burns last time because the guy to the RIGHT of Burns pulled in more votes than Testor won by. I would imagine that most of those votes would have gone to Burns. And if I wasn’t already supporting Rehberg, the last two months of Testor ads on every webpage and in every Youtube video would have made me anti-Testor, at the very least! {!-{>

  • owenmagoo

    but, nate silver says that rassmussen is inaccurate…
    one must be right.
    hint: one of the above has had a margin of error of 1% in the past three presidential elections.
    the other had 16 toss ups races in 2010. the gop won 15 of them.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/James-Conner/100000343007259 James Conner
  • Griz in Seattle

    This race is fascinating; Testor is an authentic American Hero, a 21st century Mr. Smith who went to Washington 6 years ago and lived to ask for more. His opponent from Bozeangelis typifies the 1% that would be comfortable with the other coastal cronies that bankrolled and benefited from the Treasure States’ auction in the 19th century. How can there be a choice?