The Democratic challenger to South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) trails her by just five points, according to a survey released Wednesday by Public Policy Polling.
The Democratic-affiliated pollster found that challenger Vincent Sheheen trailed the governor 50 percent to 45 percent. PPP has previously shown the race tighter than other pollsters, including with a poll conducted in June that showed Haley with a 3-point lead.
In contrast, a poll conducted at the end of August by Republican-leaning Rasmussen showed Haley with a 15 point lead. Another poll released Tuesday by American Research Group showed Haley garnering 43 percent of the vote compared to 33 percent by Sheheen and 18 percent by independent candidate Tom Ervin. Neither the PPP poll nor the Rasmussen poll included Ervin, who previously threatened to challenge Haley in the Republican primary.
The latest PPP poll was sponsored by the South Carolina Democratic Party, as was the one in June.
The survey was conducted from Sept. 4-5 and has a margin of error of 3.5 percent. 793 likely voters were surveyed via an automated telephone.
The TPM PollTracker average on Wednesday showed Haley ahead by 6.7 percent.
