I've always maintained that Montana would have a top-tier Senate race, and little by little, the race is moving in that direction. The latest evidence comes courtesy of SurveyUSA and the
latest edition of their monthly 100-senator-approval poll.
In short, at 46 percent disapprovals, Burns has the highest disapproval ratings of all 100 senators. Higher even that Santorum, tied with three others for second worst at 43 percent.
Of the targetted 2006 Republican incumbents, Burns is tied for last in "net approval" with -1, at 45/46 approval/disapproval, Santorum is ranked 95th at 47/43, DeWine 93 at 47/42, Kyl is 90th at 46/39, Talent 81st at 51/39, and Chafee 70th at 54/38.
Of the targetted 2006 Democratic incumbents, Stabenow is 84th at 48/38, Nelson (FL) is 60th at 48/28, Cantwell is 58th at 55/34, Byrd is 20th at 65/30, Nelson (NE) is 8th at 66/24, and Conrad is 6th at 70/26.
By the way, seven of the top nine senators are Democrats, with the two Republicans being Maine's "moderate" senators (in the top two slots).
By the way, kudos to the Montana Democratic Party who has been running ads early educating the people of Montana about Burns' ethical problems. It seems like some Dems are finally learning lessons from the GOP playbook -- define your opponent early. And those efforts are obviously working. In addition, Montana's press has done a solid job reporting on the Abramoff scandal and Burns leading role in that drama.