It couldn’t be closer in the Washington Senate race, according to a new poll from Fox News. Well, I take it back — it could be just a little closer. The poll of likely voters conducted for Fox by a branch of the Rasmussen polling empire shows incumbent Sen. Patty Murray (D) leading Republican nominee Dino Rossi by just one point. Murray is ahead 48-47 according to the new numbers.
There is no previous Fox News poll for direct comparison. The TPM Poll Average shows Murray leading 50.0-47.0.
The Fox poll is the latest in a string to show the race tightening since the state’s well-respected Elway Poll showed Murray ahead by nine back on Sept. 12. Since then, automated pollsters Rasmussen and SurveyUSA have shown the race to be closer, though a live telephone interview CNN/Time poll showed the Elway margin holding.
According to Fox News, economic concerns are driving the tight race.
“Forty seven percent of respondents said the state’s economy was “not so good” compared to 18 percent who said it was ‘good,'” the pollster reports. “A strong plurality (39 percent) said that Obama’s policies had hurt the state’s economy. Another quarter said the Obama agenda hadn’t done much at all for the state’s economy.”
