STILL MAJORITY LEADER DASCHLE:

Polls put Senate control within grasp of GOP (Ralph Z. Hallow, 10/15/02, THE WASHINGTON TIMES)

"If the election were held today, the Republicans would pick up Missouri, South Dakota and Minnesota," Mr. Zogby said. "They even have a shot at picking up Georgia. But Democrats would pick up Arkansas and Colorado."

Some Republicans privately said they would add New Hampshire to that list of Democrats' gains.

The latest polls, in fact, show 10 Senate contests within the margin of error, including the three targeted by both parties: Missouri, Minnesota and South Dakota.

Zogby polls for MSNBC show that in Missouri, Republican Jim Talent leads Democratic Sen. Jean Carnahan by 6 percentage points. In South Dakota, Republican Rep. John Thune leads Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson by 2 points.

But in a swift turnaround, Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone — who trailed by 6 percentage points in the Zogby poll last month — shows a 9-point lead over Republican Norm Coleman, the former St. Paul mayor.

Both campaigns say their internal polling continues to have the race a tie. But Wellstone campaign manager Jeff Blodgett noted that in the last two weeks Wellstone ads show Mr. Coleman, a former Democrat, flip-flopping on issues. One ad notes that he switched parties after he had endorsed President Clinton and Mr. Wellstone in 1996.

Mr. Zogby stands by his latest poll but still thinks Mr. Coleman has the edge because "only 45 percent [of respondents] say Wellstone deserves re-election. That number and the fact that less than 50 percent say they will vote for him is bad news for any incumbent."

 
It seems dubious that the GOP could win the NH gubernatorial and both House seats by significant margins but lose the Senate seat. At any rate, it looks like Democrats have an excellent shot at retaining the Senate and maybe even picking up a seat or two. Posted by Orrin Judd at October 15, 2002 2:23 PM