The anti-incumbent fervor currently sweeping the nation may very well cost us one of our easiest pickup opportunities.
Voters head to the polls today in Alaska to choose each party's respective nominees.
After a 22-year Senate career spent in the long shadow of senior Alaska Republican colleague Ted Stevens, Republican Frank H. Murkowski stepped onto center stage in November 2002 as he was elected as governor of his home state.
But the bright light that then bathed Murkowski began to fade almost from the moment he was sworn in a month later. His term has been so filled with turbulence and controversy, and his public approval ratings have dropped so low, that the failure of his bid for a second term in next Tuesday's Alaska Republican primary appears not just possible -- it appears a near-certainty.
A poll of 514 likely Republican primary voters conducted by Dave Dittman, a former Murkowski consultant, and released Monday had Murkowski running a distant third in the GOP contest. The poll showed former Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin leading with support from 40 percent of the respondents to 29 percent for former state Sen. John Binkley; Murkowski had just 17 percent. Undecided voters made up 14 percent of those surveyed, and the poll had a 4.3 percent margin of error.
Pray that Murkowski somehow pulls it off, because if he does, this becomes the biggest pickup opportunity for Democrats this fall.
Rasmussen. 8/3. Likely voters. MoE 4.5% (no trend lines)
Murkowski (R) 29
Knowles (D) 58
Palin (R) 51
Knowles (D) 38
Binkley (R) 46
Knowles (D) 44