Two newly released polls paint very different pictures of the Nebraska Senate race, where two-term moderate Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson is seeking re-election in a Republican-heavy state.
One poll was released by the GOP firm Magellan strategies. The other is an internal poll commissioned by the Nelson campaign, conducted by Democratic pollster Harrison Hickman, and was done earlier this month than the Magellan poll.
The Magellan poll gives Nelson a favorable rating of only 36%, to 51% unfavorable. The poll gives state Attorney General Jon Bruning a lead of 35%-49% over Nelson, and former state Attorney General Don Stenberg (who was also Nelson’s opponent in the 2000 open-seat race) a 41%-40% edge. The poll gives Nelson the lead over state Sen. Deb Fischer, by 41%-35%.
In addition, Magellan found Gov. Dave Heineman — who is not in the race — leading Nelson by a hefty 51%-33%.
Later on Monday, the Nelson campaign released the internal poll. This poll shows a 54% favorable rating for Nelson, to 40% unfavorable. Nelson leads Bruning by 47%-45%, leads Stenberg by 49%-43%, and leads Fischer by 50%-37%. Heineman was not tested.
The Magellan poll was conducted from November 20-21, and has a ±3.86% margin of error. The Nelson internal poll was conducted from November 5-10, and has a ±4.0% margin of error.
