Several new polls are out today suggesting that challenger Chris McDaniel has closed the gap with incumbent Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran in the Republican primary there.
One poll reported by Politico and conducted by Chism strategies has found that McDaniel has gained a six-point lead over Cochran of 50 to 44 percent.
A second poll conducted by Tea Party Express finds a dead heat, with Cochran at 44.5 percent and challenger McDaniel at 44 percent, with 11.5 percent undecided.
Tea Party Express noted that a result this deadlocked, this close to the election means that “turnout is everything.”
“This poll shows a dead heat between Tea Party-supported State Senator Chris McDaniel and 42-year incumbent Senator Thad Cochran,” Tea Party Express Chief Strategist Sal Russo said in a statement:
With the election just days away, it’s going to be each campaign’s get-out-the-vote effort that tips the scale and makes all the difference. Tea Party supporters favor McDaniel 72.9% to 10.2% for Cochran, and the enthusiasm from the grassroots will be needed to push McDaniel over the top.
The Tea Party Express poll was conducted by NSON Opinion Strategy in Salt Lake City, Utah.
If McDaniel bests Chochran in this primary, it will echo the unexpected victory of newcomer Dave Brat over longtime Washington power broker Eric Cantor and may indicate a GOP electorate turning against the party establishment.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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