EVEN, BUT LOSING :

Kirk, Cornyn in tight contest : Poll shows dead heat in race that could be key in control of Senate (WAYNE SLATER and CHRISTOPHER LEE, 05/22/2002, The Dallas Morning News

A new poll indicates that Republican John Cornyn and Democrat Ron Kirk are locked in a close race for the Senate, a contest that national party leaders say could be pivotal in determining who controls Congress.

According to the survey, Mr. Cornyn and Mr. Kirk are effectively in a dead heat - the Republican attracting 46 percent of likely Texas voters and the Democrat backed by 44 percent. Ten percent were either undecided or declined to answer.

"With so few of the voters undecided almost five months out, both candidates will need to work to earn the margin that will put them over the top," said Democratic pollster Jeff Montgomery of Austin, who conducted the poll.

The sharpest divisions were along ethnic lines, with 58 percent of Hispanics and 84 percent of blacks supporting Mr. Kirk. Nearly 57 percent of non-Hispanic whites backed Mr. Cornyn.

This seems like a race that Kirk should be leading just on the basis of name recognition. That they are running even suggests that his campaign faces a tough time. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 28, 2002 7:25 AM