Via David Weigel, it looks like Beau Biden has more than closed the lead that GOP Rep. Mike Castle has in a hypothetical match-up. The Susquehanna Polling & Research survey [pdf} has Biden leading by five points. When they polled this race in April, Castle led by 21 points. (This poll was conducted from November 10 to November 15.)
What's more important for the moment is what the polling firm is attributing Biden's surge to:
This 5-point lead for Biden, which is statistically significant because it is outside the poll’s 3.36% margin of error, marks the first time in publicly-released surveys that Biden has held the lead. It also represents a significant shift in support for Biden compared to our April survey which showed Castle with a 21-point lead, mainly due to Biden’s increased support with critical independent voters which make up nearly 1 in 4 voters in Delaware. A second explanation for the shift away from Castle in the current poll may be a result of negative publicity he received in the state after casting a "no" vote for President Obama’s health care reform bill in the U.S. Congress. The current poll was conducted 11/10 – 11/15, the week immediately following the weekend when the U.S. House of Representatives voted on this landmark legislation.
Healthcare reform is popular--the nation recognizes that something has to be done to fix this broken system, and it's abundantly clear that the Republicans aren't going to be a part of the solution. Despite the cowardice of Blue Dogs and ConservaDems, who don't ever want to take any kind of controversial vote, this issue isn't one that's going to drive voters away, particularly those independent voters.