Just received this in my email box from the Seals campaign:
SurveyUSA, an automated polling firm, conducted the surveys for Roll Call on Saturday and Sunday (WHAS-TV in Louisville was a partner on the poll in Indiana's 9th district). Each poll tested more than 600 voters and had an error margin of roughly 4 points (for complete details, see chart at right).
In Illinois' 10th district, marketing consultant Dan Seals (D) led Rep. Mark Kirk (R) 52 percent to 44 percent.
Rest of the story after the fold, but before the jump, let me just say I REALLY hope Seals will be this week's "Hell to Pay" candidate. Click here for just a few reasons why.
Since this was in my email, I assume it's okay to quote the rest of the story, which mentions the DailyKos Research 2000 poll as well:
Kirk has thrived politically despite the liberal lean of his suburban Chicago district. But Seals, running with little help from the national party, came within 7 points of the Republican in 2006. But the DCCC is playing in the district this year, and Kirk saw it coming: He has raised an astounding $4.6 million for the race so far.
But even that amount of money might not be able to get Kirk past Seals in what is shaping up to be a Democratic year, especially with a Chicago Democrat at the top of the ticket. In the SurveyUSA poll, Obama led McCain in the district 62 percent to 36 percent - a margin that's 20 points greater than Sen. John Kerry's (D-Mass.) margin over Bush in the 2004 White House election.
Kirk's campaign on Monday took issue with another poll on the race that was released over the weekend by the liberal Daily Kos Web site. In a Sept. 30-Oct. 1 Research 2000 poll done for Daily Kos, Kirk had a 44 percent to 38 percent lead over Seals.
Kirk's campaign distributed a memo by his pollster, McLaughlin & Associates, criticizing the liberal Web site for conducting the poll during Rosh Hashana last week. Kirk's pollsters said many conservative Jewish constituents likely would not answer the phone during the holiday.
Kirk's pollster also took issue with the partisan makeup of the Research 2000 poll - which was similar to the partisan makeup of the SurveyUSA poll conducted for Roll Call. Kirk's own polls have shown him with a substantial lead over Seals.
My recollection is that Seals won the Jewish vote in 2006. If that's right, it's hard to see what Kirk's complaint about these polls would be. Unless of course, his campaign is just lying. But what are the odds of a Republican campaign doing that? (c. 100%)
UPDATE: Bonus for Illinois readers: Rezko Sentencing Postponed: Tony appears to be singing and it's a tune I suspect Blago won't like!