MO-2012 Senate: 44% Akin (R), 43% McCaskill (D) (PPP 8/20)

PPP (D)
8/20/12; 500 likely voters, 4.4% margin of error
Mode: Automated phone
PPP release

Missouri

2012 Senate
44% Akin (R), 43% McCaskill (D) (chart)

Comments

[peppermintm545]

12:45 PM on 08/22/2012

Biden "they gonna put you back in chains"...yet idiots will still vote for obama/biden....obama "if the economy doesn't improve I'll be a one term president"....economy still tanking...and idiots still voting for him!!!!

[Ben Winslow]

11:12 PM on 08/21/2012

Missouri....The Show Me State. They are showing America just how stupid THE PEOPLE OF MISSOURI ARE!

[Alan Snipes]

03:29 PM on 08/21/2012

Hang in there Todd. After all, your opinion about rape and abortion is exactly where the Republican Party stands. How dare they condemn you when you say exactly what the GOP platform is in regards to rape and abortion.

[Jeff Bunting]

02:56 PM on 08/21/2012

I can't help but notice a lot of these polls underpoll women and minorities. Why is this?

[Xenobion]

02:26 PM on 08/21/2012

2 and a half hours. Tick tock.

[ConservativeIntellectual]

02:04 PM on 08/21/2012

Akin wins in a landslide. By November this little faux pas will be all but forgotten.

[Xenobion]

02:21 PM on 08/21/2012

Macaca! Good luck with that. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets aborted.

[Marcus Davies]

10:01 PM on 08/21/2012

No. The sad thing is that a lot of people only "think" the guy is wrong because they heard the media say so. The vast majority of women will be appalled, but never discount the ability of committed ideologues to reduce this to "speaking his mind", call him a "freethinker" or a "maverick" and send him to Washington.

[Steelheadangler]

12:32 AM on 08/22/2012

Your handle is an oxymoron and you comment is simply moronic.

[ConservativeIntellectual]

08:10 AM on 08/22/2012

So you have nothing of substance to add to the debate.....typical.

[ashenthorn]

02:03 PM on 08/21/2012

Akin just cited this poll in his confirmation that he's staying in the race.

[teron678]

01:14 PM on 08/21/2012

Push Polls which this is ... are never truly representative ..

[Awaiting theIdiocracy]

12:39 PM on 08/21/2012

She's closed the gap.

[theocrat]

10:27 AM on 08/21/2012

Why doesn't the Republican party nominate Jerry Sandusky for senate? Half of Missouri would vote for him also as long as he had an "R" next to his name.

[Rightbrainedleftwinged]

12:11 PM on 08/21/2012

It is pathetic. Lots of stupid people in this country.

[ConservativeIntellectual]

02:02 PM on 08/21/2012

Like the people who are going to vote for Obama again?

[theocrat]

04:46 PM on 08/21/2012

It's almost as pathetic as millions of senior citizens in Florida electing a Medicare fraud guy as their govenor.

[TJampel]

09:18 AM on 08/21/2012

I don't think this is a push poll or that PPP is engaging in any kind of hanky panky here; however, there's no doubt that PPP releasing such a poll will make it more likely that Akin stays in. Reason? He can now go to his supporters and say.....see....people are really pissed off at me for these comments an they will STILL vote for me anyway. In a few weeks this will all blow over and my numbers will almost certainly improve.

Did PPP have a political agenda....fer sure, and it may have been a stroke of brilliance on their part to simply release an honest poll showing Akin still in the game. Dems want Akin to stay in, of course, and nationalize this type of sentiment (remember that Akin and Ryan worked together on no less than (apparently there are more) 8 separate anti-abortion bills, some of which seek to define rape as consensual or nonconsensual. Tying Ryan to Akin is a great strategy if you can do it. Having him stay in the race not only gives Dems an outside shot to keep the seat---it makes Republicans more vulnerable on this one issue, which is of concern to many.

[stillow1]

11:13 AM on 08/21/2012

"I don't think this is a push poll or that PPP is engaging in any kind of hanky panky here;"

Well that is the problem with PPP polls these days. Given the games they have palyed in key races the past couple years, it's very hard to trust anything they put out. Much like Rass, they seem more interested in pushing a timely narrative than putting out accurate results.

Since other pollsters have gotten involved at the state level, their polling has started to come home....IMO by the end of September we can trust PPP polling again...as near election they will want to retain what credibility (if any outisde liberal land) they have left as a legitimate pollster.

[Xenobion]

02:24 PM on 08/21/2012

PPP doesn't get paid to do these state polls like other internal pollsters. Their culture is very wonky and does err on a somewhat Democratic lean, but they are by far the largest and most transparent polling outfits where your criticism reaches them and they make changes. I honestly don't think they are in the bag for McCaskill or Dems in general.

[TJampel]

09:09 AM on 08/21/2012

The real question is, if Akin's not out by 5:00 pm today (the deadline for withdrawal), will the Republican party continue to treat Akin like a leper and keep the flow of $$$s turned off?

That's what they've done for now. Akin desperately needs those funds (or needs a lot of new grassroots funding from fundies) to run against McCaskil's war chest. Otherwise she'll just keep beating him over the head with this and he won't be able to defend or continue to attack her.

If the Republican establishment does an about-face and turns the spigot back on and "welcomes" Akin back with open arms it gives Dems something nice and juicy to run on nationally.

[A New Jersey Farmer]

10:26 AM on 08/21/2012

Good points. If he loses his funding, other groups would need to step in and then they would be associated with his comments as well. The GOP would be foolish to step back into the race.

[A New Jersey Farmer]

08:43 AM on 08/21/2012

It's not like his comment will blow over. A sustained McCaskill ad campaign would probably swing some voters to her. Plus, you don't know what else Akin will say during the race.

[ashenthorn]

09:16 AM on 08/21/2012

Republican operatives want him out because if he stays in, they're afraid democrats will be able to nationalize what would have been just another relatively anonymous senate race. In a presidential race this close, the presence of Akin could hurt Romney/Ryan more than it endangers the republicans' chances of picking up the Missouri senate seat.

[A New Jersey Farmer]

10:24 AM on 08/21/2012

And they have every reason to fear this. It would reinforce the idea that Republicans aren't friendly to women.

[dopper0189]

08:03 AM on 08/21/2012

Yhe poll's sample was pretty red: 39% of respondents identified as Republicans, while only 30% are Dems and 32% independents. PPP's May poll was 35 D, 33 R, 33 I. According to the 2010 exit polls (obviously a high-water mark for Republicans), it was 37 R, 34 D, 28 I.

Also this was a single day poll (higher margin of error) because PPP wanted a snap poll. If Atkin doesn't withdraw by tonight, by Missouri law the MO Republican party will need a court order to replace him on the ballet. That is why this poll was taken so quickly.

[TJampel]

09:12 AM on 08/21/2012

The sample voted for McCain by 5; it's somewhat more conservative, but that may just represent the actual LV breakdown for red-trending MO this year....hard to say. Obama is down 5 in this poll; that seems about right or even slightly low.

[cyph3r xray]

05:24 AM on 08/21/2012

The fact there is even a slight lead speaks volumes of the tea-drunkards inhabiting the sad sad State of MO. Yeesh. Jesus couldn't help these ignorant fools.