Brownback Camp: Kansas City Royals Skewed Poll Showing Him Down 7

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s (R) re-election campaign is arguing that a new Rasmussen Reports poll showing Democratic opponent Paul Davis ahead 52 percent to 45 percent among likely voters is probably wrong, citing the fact that it was conducted during game one of the World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants.

Some recent polling has shown Brownback ahead but before the Rasmussen poll, a Monmouth University poll also showed Davis ahead of Brownback.

The Brownback campaign said the results were wrong since the poll was conducted during the first game of the 2014 World Series.

“For more than a week before the start of the World Series, National and State polling averages, showed Brownback with a narrow lead,” a statement from the Brownback campaign said. Brownback Communications Director John Milburn said in the statement that the Rasmussen poll wasn’t reliable as it was conducted during the World Series.

The Brownback campaign also released a memo, which can be read here via the Capital-Journal, from its internal pollster, Cole Hargrave Snodgrass & Associates, that said their polling said the race was in a virtual dead heat. That memo did not include any specific polling numbers.

The TPM Polltracker average finds Brownback with a 2.1 point lead over the rest of the field.