Murray Pulling Away in WA-Sen

SurveyUSA has been among the most bearish pollsters for the Democrats this cycle, predicting doom and gloom for the party. So when even they show a supposedly endangered Democratic incumbent at 50 percent and rising in the polls, it can't be good news for the GOP.

A new KING 5 poll illustrates just how tight and fluid the race is for U.S. Senate in Washington State.

Right after the August primary, the KING 5 tracking poll found Republican Dino Rossi was ahead. But Democratic incumbent Patty Murray has been gaining ground and in our latest poll, it's effectively a dead heat with 50% telling SurveyUSA they now favor Murray; 48% Rossi.

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A nine-point swing in our tracking poll in just one month, does suggest how volatile this race is. Ballots go in the mail in just about three weeks.

This is the fourth straight survey, and fifth out of six, to show Patty Murray at or above 50 percent against Republican Dino Rossi -- a tough sign for the Republicans given that their nominee's name recognition level is sky high from two consecutive (losing) gubernatorial bids. And looking at the trend estimate below, it's clear that Murray is coming on strong, rising from around 43 percentage points earlier this cycle to a significantly stronger 50.2 percent mark.



If the GOP doesn't win here, the math of getting to a majority becomes a whole lot trickier.