New Poll in Oregon Senate Race

Now that Lewis & Clark law prof Jim Huffman is in the discussion as a potential Republican contender for the seat of U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), there's a survey out testing how Huffman would do in a race against Wyden — if Huffman were to run in the May GOP primary and advance to the general election in November.

The Rasmussen Reports telephone poll Feb. 16 of 500 likely Oregon voters gave Wyden 49 percent in this hypothetical matchup with Huffman, and 35 percent for Huffman. Here's what Rasmussen Reports — which has been blasted by Democrats as Republican-tilting — says is the takeaway from its survey:



"Given Oregon's political leanings, it's a tough struggle for any Republican candidate against a popular Democrat like Wyden. Still, an incumbent who polls less than 50% at this stage of the campaign is viewed as potentially vulnerable, and this week's surprise announcement by Indiana Senator Evan Bayh that he will not seek reelection has sent shock waves through Democratic ranks.

It's interesting to note, too, that Huffman, a political newcomer, is an unknown quantity to 43% of the voters in Oregon, while just nine percent (9%) don't know enough about Wyden to have an opinion of him. This suggests Huffman may be getting some support just because he isn't the Democrat."

The margin of sampling error for the survey was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.