As South Dakota takes its place as possibly the most interesting Senate race in the country, a Republican polling firm has found the Democratic candidate within striking distance.
A Harper Polling survey released Monday found Democratic candidate Rick Weiland (pictured) trailing former Republican Gov. Mike Rounds, 33 percent to 37 percent. The independent candidate, former GOP Sen. Larry Pressler, whom both sides are attacking, takes 23 percent.
Three-way races are notoriously difficult to predict, but recent polling has showed Rounds struggling to pull away in what was thought to be an assured GOP pick-up with Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) retiring. A SurveyUSA poll from last week put Rounds at 35 percent, followed by Pressler at 32 percent and Weiland at 28 percent.
TPM’s PollTracker average has Rounds at 35 percent, Pressler at 29.3 percent and Weiland at 28 percent.
The Harper Polling poll, conducted Oct. 9 to 11, surveyed 630 likely voters. Its margin of error is 3.9 points.
