Polls for congressional races are few and far between. Independent polls are even rarer. And independent polls for second- or third-tier races are nearly non-existent.
But we lucked out in Ben Konop's race in Ohio 4, where a local newspaper polled a bunch of local issues.
Lima News. 9/15. MoE 5%. (No trend lines.)
Oxley (R) 45.3
Konop (D) 39.4
And want more good news from the poll? Check this out:
Bush 48.6
Kerry 38.1
Sounds like weak numbers, until you learn that Bush won the district with 67 percent in 2000, and Dole with 55 percent in 1996.
[Former Allen County Democratic Party chairman] Angel wondered if Kerry wasn't riding the coat tails of Democratic congressional candidate Ben Konop.
"Kerry is well above the Mondale line," Angel said. "Mondale received 27 percent in Allen County. Konop is doing well, and that's not surprising, with the campaigning he's doing. I think Konop may be carrying Kerry a bit."
Brendon Cull, Ohio Democratic Campaign spokesman, said Allen County's job losses account for the race narrowing.
If Bush is having trouble in this Republican district, he's in trouble in Ohio (but we already knew that). The fact that the chronically underfunded Konop is making progress against the entrenched Oxley is phenomenally good news. Konop is proving himself a solid candidate.
Update: The poll appears to be for Allen County only, not the district at large. It's the second largest couny in the district, and one of the state's Republican strongholds.