Toricelli laggin in NJ

Two new polls show NH Sen. Toricelli trailing his GOP challenger, Douglas Forrester. A Quinnipiac poll puts Toricelli's deficit at 4 points (48-44), while a Star Ledger poll has Toricelli ahead by one point -- 41-40, but trailing amongst "likely" voters 44-39. That's a consistent 4-5 point deficit.

The sleazy Toricelli is clearly this cycle's most endangered Democrat. His chances for victory will depend on how well he paints Forrester as too conservative for his Democrat-leaning state. In one of those tidbits that may be either good news or bad:

Nearly half of Forrester's supporters, 49 percent, said they are actually anti-Torricelli voters.

Thus, it's clear Forrester's support has nothing to do with his candidacy or ideology, but a backlash against Toricelli's ethical problems. Whether he can "mea culpa" his way back into those voters' good graces remains to be seen.

(Via Political Wire)

Posted September 12, 2002 08:19 AM | Comments (5)