If you have access to PoliticoPRO, you can view this hot-off-the-presses story. If not, here are the highlights – great news for LuAnn Bennett and, more broadly, for Democrats’ chances of taking back the House. This poll also provides more indication that Barbara Comstock is really worried, and further confirmation that Comstock’s decision to move further away from her party’s presidential nominee was purely motivated by political factors (e.g., the real chance that Trump could drag Comstock down to defeat in a few weeks – lol).
- An internal Bennett campaign poll, by Expedition Strategies (conducted Oct. 10-12.) has Democratic nominee LuAnn Bennett leading Republican “attack dog” Barbara Comstock by 4 points (48%-44%). 🙂
- That marks “a shift from a September Bennett internal that showed Comstock ahead, 47 percent to 45 percent.”
- Also interesting, poll respondents “were asked to choose whether they thought Comstock’s reaction showed more “political self-interest” or more of an ‘independent minded’ approach, picking the first option about 2 to 1.”
- Again, if you have access to PoliticoPRO, you can read the polling memo here.
P.S. See below for a press release from the Bennett campaign:
TRUMP EFFECT in FULL EFFECT: New VA10 Poll Finds Bennett LEADING Comstock
Bennett 48 – Comstock 44 as Voters Reject Trump Reversal as Craven Political Move
Majority of Voters See Comstock’s Un-Endorsement of Trump as Ploy for Political Self-Preservation
McLean – Democratic challenger and small business owner LuAnn Bennett now leads Rep. Barbara Comstock 48% – 44%, according to a new poll released today. Previous polling from September showed Bennett trailing Comstock by two points.Read the full memo here.
The first poll released after both presidential debates and a tape of Trump bragging about groping women came to light finds Trump’s toxic campaign continuing to drag down Comstock. Even after Comstock was forced to finally reverse her implicit support for Trump, voters saw right through the decision, describing her move for what it is – a blatantly political ploy from a career partisan operative.
A majority (57%) of voters say Barbara Comstock’s announcement that she will not support Donald Trump shows that she will do what is in her political self-interest, while 28% say it shows she is an independent minded person who is willing to break with her party when she believes it is the right thing.
Comstock continues to sink by a free-falling Trump. Comstock’s negatives now outweigh her positives (41% favorable, 44% unfavorable). The poll comes on a day after Trump announced his campaign is pulling out of Virginia.
“Northern Virginia voters are looking for a moderate candidate who shares their values and will stand up for them, not someone who only speaks out when she thinks it helps her politically,” Bennett spokesman Robert Howard said. “These voters reject Donald Trump, and now are rejecting Barbara Comstock for staying silent for as long as she did. They see Comstock’s reversal on Trump for what it is – a last ditch effort from a political operative determined to save her political career.”
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