Polls Show Ties in Va., Wis. Senate Races

Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican George Allen continue to run neck-and-neck in the Virginia Senate race, according to a new Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times poll released Wednesday. Meanwhile, with less than a week to go until Wisconsin Republicans choose their Senate nominee, a separate Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times poll shows that former Gov. Tommy Thompson is tied with Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin, while the other two top GOP contenders trail Baldwin narrowly.

In Virginia, Kaine, the state's former governor and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee leads Allen, a former senator and governor, 48 percent to 46 percent, within the poll's margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.6 percentage points. While this poll is Quinnipiac's first look at the race among likely voters, the two candidates have been tied in each of 8 polls of registered voters released by the school. Six percent of likely voters in the commonwealth are undecided.

With the Wisconsin GOP primary less than a week away, the poll in the Badger State shows Baldwin and Thompson, once the strong favorite in the primary, tied, with 47 percent for each candidate. Baldwin leads businessman Eric Hovde, 47 percent to 43 percent, and she outpaces former Rep. Mark Neumann, 48 percent to 45 percent. State Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald lags his fellow Republicans; Baldwin leads him by a larger margin, 51 percent to 39 percent.

The primary is considered a tight, three-way race between Thompson, Hovde and Neumann. A new Marquette Law School poll of the primary and general elections is set to be released later Wednesday.

The Quinnipiac polls also show Democrats buoyed by the top of the ticket in each state: Obama holds a slim, 4-point advantage in the Virginia survey, and a slightly more robust 6-point edge in Wisconsin. The polls were conducted July 31-Aug. 6, with 1,412 likely voters interviewed in Virginia and 1,428 likely voters interviewed in Wisconsin. Each survey carries a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.6 percentage points.

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