Rasmussen has a new poll out of 500 likely voters on the Governor's race and the US Senate race. The poll calls the US Senate race a toss-up and looks at two match-ups:
- Sheldon Whitehouse (D) - 51% Steve Laffey (R) - 32%
- Sheldon Whitehouse (D) - 41% Lincoln Chafee (R) - 44%
These are pretty solid numbers for Whitehouse now that he has cleared the field, received the endorsement of Sen. Jack Reed and can watch Chafee & Laffey duke it out until the Sept. 12th Primary. The poll also asserts that Laffey does much better with registered Republicans (70%-60%) in a matchup with Whitehouse, but it costs hundreds of dollars to access their cross-tabs, so if someone has access to it and wants to email it to me (wink, wink), I would be much obliged. Also, the poll does not mention the other Democratic candidate Carl Sheeler. More poll results below the fold.
There is also good news for Democrats in the Governor's race which has Democratic Lt. Gov. Charlie Fogarty winning for the first time:
- Charlie Fogarty (D) - 42% Don Carcieri (R) - 41%
This is great news for Fogarty who outraised incumbent Carcieri by $80,000 in the first quarter and will serve as the ammunition that he needs to convince local and national donors that he can win this race. Also, it will be a great backdrop to Fogarty's fundraiser today with Democratic Governors Assoc. President and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.