Democratic Poll: Bachmann Vulnerable in Reelection Bid

By Steven Shepard  //  June 26, 2012 | 2:42 p.m.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., withdrew from the presidential race in January to focus on her reelection campaign, but a new poll conducted for her Democratic opponent shows Bachmann with only a tenuous, single-digit lead in her bid for a fourth term in the House.

Bachmann leads businessman Jim Graves, 48 percent to 43 percent, according to a memorandum from the Democratic, Washington-based polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, which conducted the survey. Nine percent of likely voters are undecided.

As a result of her high profile in the House and her presidential campaign, Bachmann enjoys near-universal name identification, but she elicits more negative feelings from the district's likely voters than positive ones. A majority, 51 percent, give her a cool, or negative, rating, compared to just 35 percent who give her a warm, positive rating.

Voters also lean negative on her job performance, with only 39 percent rating it "good" or "excellent," while 56 percent choose "just fair" or "poor." Twice as many likely voters call her job performance "poor" as rate it "excellent."

Graves is the chief executive of Graves Hospitality, a company that develops luxury hotels and restaurants. When he filed for the race last month, he told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that he would emphasize his experience in business in the race. "I've created a lot of jobs, thousands of jobs. I know a thing about business," he said, according to the paper. "I think I can bring the skill set that is necessary to turn this district around and bring it back on track." But Graves is getting some high-profile help. The Pioneer Press reported that Minnesota-based author and radio personality Garrison Keillor would host a fundraiser for Graves on Wednesday. The poll was conducted June 12-14, surveying 505 likely voters. The margin of error is plus-or-minus 4.4 percentage points.

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