A poll this week shows challenger Bill Hedrick within striking distance in the race for California's 44th Congressional District.
The new poll of 611 likely voters shows Hedrick has closed the gap between himself and corrupt incumbent Congressman Ken Calvert to a mere 5 points (48% for Calvert to 43% for Hedrick) while the 18-year Washington politician has lost ground as undecided voters have begun breaking to the challenger.
Calvert continues to poll below 50% - a true danger sign for an incumbent in what is becoming an increasingly anti-incumbent year - and even dropped 1 point from a public poll conducted just two weeks earlier that showed Calvert leading Hedrick 49% to 38%.
"Over the last two weeks, the Hedrick for Congress campaign has kicked its media and field programs into high gear, and the public has responded," said Hedrick campaign manager Katie Mantz. "We have gained 5 points in just two weeks and are closing in fast."
With just 5 points separating these candidates and momentum on Hedrick's side, this race is one of the few opportunities for Democrats to pick up a congressional seat this cycle in order to retain their majority.
"The more voters hear about Calvert's corruption, the more they are ready to fire him," said Mantz. "We have the momentum now, and it's going to carry us through to victory on Election Day."
The automated poll was conducted October 12 by Zata|3 Consulting and commissioned by the Hedrick for Congress campaign. The margin of error for the poll is ±4%. Information on the Zata|3 Consulting poll can be found here: http://www.hedrickforcongress.com/... Information about the methodology on the Democrats.com poll conducted by Public Policy Polling can be found at http://www.democrats.com/... Information about the February poll performed by Tulchin Research can be found here: http://www.hedrickforcongress.com/...