A pair of new polls shows state Sen. Chris McDaniel (R-MS) leading Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) in the runoff of the Republican primary for United States Senate.
A poll from the Republican-leaning National Strategic firm found McDaniel leading Cochran 52.49 percent to Cochran with 45.93 percent of likely Republican runoff voters. The poll also found that 40 percent of those surveyed said Cochran should step aside rather than continue to run in the runoff.
The poll was conducted on June 5 (two days after the primary) among 442 respondents. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.66 percentage points.
Meanwhile another poll by the Democratic-leaning Chism Strategies found McDaniel leading Cochran 50.6 percent to 47.6 percent among those surveyed. An earlier Chism poll also found McDaniel just barely leading Cochran.
The new Chism poll was conducted among 832 voters who participated in the 2008, 2010, and 2012 GOP primaries. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3. 3 percentage points.
The runoff is on June 24.
