The pivotal Iowa Senate race is still a tossup, a new poll released Monday by Quinnipiac University shows.
Republican Joni Ernst and Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley are locked at 47 percent each in the survey — suggesting the race has tightened since last week, when another Quinnipiac survey showed Ernst leading Braley, 49 percent to 45 percent.
The result is also at odds with a Des Moines Register poll released this weekend, showing Ernst leading Braley by a whopping seven points.
But the latest Quinnipiac survey does give Ernst an important advantage over Braley. The poll shows that 47 percent of Iowans view Ernst favorably, compared to 45 percent who do not. Meanwhile, Braley’s likability is underwater, with 43 percent rating him positively, and 45 percent holding a negative view of him.
Early voting, however, strongly favors Braley in the poll. Among Iowans who have already voted, Braley leads Erst 56 percent to 36 percent.
The poll was conducted Oct. 28 to Nov. 2, surveying 778 likely voters on both land lines and cell phones. The margin of error was 3.5 points.
Among the battleground Senate races, Iowa is a crucial bellwether for Democrats, who are fighting the electoral odds to maintain a majority in the Senate.
On a conference call with progressive activists Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid predicted the party would be “just fine” if Iowans ultimately vote in Democrats’ favor.
If not, Reid said, a Republican Senate would be all but certain.
“Joni Ernst would mean — coming to the United States Senate — that Mitch McConnell would be leader of the United States Senate, who agrees with her on everything,” Reid said.
