King Holds Big Lead in New Poll

By Julie Sobel  //  October 10, 2012 | 11:31 a.m.

A poll released Wednesday shows Independent former Gov. Angus King with a huge lead in Maine's Senate contest, contrasting with other recent polls that have shown a tightening race.

The poll from Pan Atlantic SMS also shows King hitting the 50 percent mark in the three-way contest. He garners 50 percent of the vote to Republican Charlie Summers' 24 percent and Democrat Cynthia Dill's measly 12 percent. Fourteen percent of respondents were undecided in the race.

King holds the support of 59 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of Independents in the survey. Just 21 percent of Democrats express support for Dill. Summers doesn't even reach 50 percent support among Republicans in the poll: 48 percent support him, while 34 percent support King.

A recent poll conducted for the National Republican Senatorial Committee showed a much tighter race, with King leading Summers just 37-34. That poll was conducted concurrently with the Pan Atlantic SMS survey, which was conducted Sept. 24-28. Other recent polls have showed a bigger -- but narrowing -- lead for King, who has been the favorite throughout the race.

King has been getting pummeled over the airwaves by the NRSC and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Recently, though, the outside group Americans Elect announced a $500,000 buy on his behalf. And the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee -- though they still won't endorse in the race -- is now pouring money into the state too. The poll surveyed 400 likely voters. The margin of error is plus-or-minus 4.9 percentage points.

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Reid Wilson, Editor-in-Chief
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