Maybe it’s too soon to take this poll. And maybe we would love to think that the people of Missouri are smarter than this. Never the less, a new poll from Public Policy Polling is reporting that even after the false and offensive comments on rape from Todd Akin, he is still leading Claire McCaskill for the Senate race.
Public Policy Polling found that “Missouri voters strongly disagree with the comments Todd Akin made about abortion over the weekend, but it hasn’t moved the numbers a whole lot in the Senate race. Akin leads Claire McCaskill by a single point, 44-43. That’s basically identical to our last poll of the contest in late May, which found Akin ahead by a 45-44 spread.
“It’s not that Missouri voters are ok with or supportive of Akin’s comments. 75% of voters, including even 64% of Republicans, say they were inappropriate to only 9% who consider them to have been appropriate. 79% of voters say they disagree with what Akin said, including 65% who express ‘strong’ disagreement with him. 51% of GOP voters say they strongly disagree with him.”
We can only hope the people of Missouri are smarter than this poll indicates. We can only hope that taking this poll 24 hours after Akin’s infamous statement is too soon to gauge Missouri’s voters on their preference for November. With just about everyone – from Democrats to Independents to Republicans – asking Akin to withdraw from the Senate race, this poll may not even matter.
Let’s wait and see what happens in the next 24 hours. If Akin withdraws his name, the deadline is today at 5PM.
