The new Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll of Arizona gives Sen. John McCain a big lead over his challenger in the Republican primary, former Rep. J.D. Hayworth.
The numbers: McCain 52%, Hayworth 37%, with a ±4% margin of error. There is no previous Research 2000 poll of this race for direct comparison. A Rasmussen poll from two weeks ago – before Sarah Palin visited Arizona for a high-profile campaign appearance with McCain last week — gave McCain a somewhat narrower lead.
The current TPM Poll Average gives McCain a lead of 48.3%-40.3%.
From Daily Kos’s analysis: “Despite the conventional wisdom that McCain could be vulnerable to an intra-party challenge, we find that McCain has a fairly solid level of favorability among Republicans. His current favorability among GOP voters stands at 76%, with only 19% expressing disapproval.
“Hayworth, meanwhile, may well have some upside in the GOP primary, as he is still unknown to about a quarter of the electorate. And it is worth noting that among Republicans, he is well liked (a 61/16 favorability spread).”
