Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who has both bad-mouthed and praised the Tea Party movement in the past, isn’t up for re-election until 2014. But when that comes, a new survey from Public Policy Polling (D) finds that Graham could be quite vulnerable in his Republican primary — against Congressman Joe “You Lie” Wilson!
The poll finds that only 42% of the state’s Republican primary voters approve of Graham’s performance, with 40% disapproving. And in a hypothetical primary against Wilson, who famously shouted out “You lie!” during a speech on health care by President Obama to Congress, it doesn’t look good for Graham: Wilson gets 43% of the votes, and Graham gets 41%. The margin of error ±4.1%.
“Lindsey Graham should thank God his next race is not until 2014,” writes PPP president Dean Debnam. “He’d be in good shape in November, but at this rate, he’d be lucky to survive that far.”
On the other hand, Graham does lead former Gov. Mark Sanford by a margin of 52%-34%. Unfortunately for Sanford, while he might have a lot of experience campaigning in Buenos Aires and on the Appalachian Trail, those voters likely aren’t eligible to participate in South Carolina elections.
