There is a big shake-up in the Arkansas gubernatorial race. The once-comfortable lead Mike Beebe enjoyed is quickly dwindling.
A new poll really changes the tone of this race for governor. FOX16's Roby Brock and host of Talk Business breaks down the new poll results.
"Democrat Mike Beebe at 49.5%, Republican Jim Keet at 40.5%. The rest undecided. I think the poll shows what we've been seeing for a long time: there is a lot of voter discontent with incumbents out there. Mike Beebe's job approval ratings have been above 70%, but that doesn't necessarily mean that his job security is a lock. I do think these numbers give hope to Jim Keet that if he can rally, he may make this a very competitive race. Being down 9 points is not as insurmountable as a much bigger lead. I would caution, however, that there is a big difference in the 2 candidates' fundraising totals. Mike Beebe has nearly $3 million to Keet's $59,000 and when Beebe starts to spend it on his re-election message, it could dramatically change the race in a positive direction for him," says Brock.
What caused this gap to narrow? Why is Jim Keet quickly making up ground on Governor Beebe?
"This is really one of our first looks at this race and a lot will change between now and November. But I think the race is where it is today because there is a real mood among voters that incumbents - and that means Democrats in Arkansas - are the party to throw out of power. We've seen this at the national level and in federal races, but this is the first time it seems to be translating to state races. I think another issue is the continuously unfolding story about statewide office holders and their taxpayer financed vehicles. For nearly 2 weeks, there has been another shoe drop in this story that has affected pretty much every statewide elected official from Gov. to Attorney General to State Treasurer. That bad news for incumbents could be affecting the Governor's race and others," says Brock.
You also released new polling data on the U.S. senate race. Boozman's been in the lead in every poll so far? What did your poll show?
"Our poll showed Republican John Boozman with 57% of the vote to Democrat Blanche Lincoln's 32%. Independent Trevor Drown at 3%, Green Party nominee John Gray at 2%. 6% undecided. Boozman seems to be benefiting from the voter anger toward Lincoln that we've seen in other polling data. And it appears at this juncture that the alternative candidates outside of the two parties don't look like they'll impact the race much," says Brock.
What can we expect Senator Lincoln to do to start closing the gap here?
"Senator Lincoln had a bruising primary battle with Lt. Gov. Bill Halter. Millions of dollars spent against her, lots of attacks on her record. John Boozman didn't have that. I think Lincoln has to spend money earlier than she'd like to try to define John Boozman in a way that voters will find him less appealing. Show how he has voted against the state's interests on some key issues. She has a 4-to-1 advantage in terms of money over Boozman. I say hit him hard while he doesn't have the money to respond and try to knock his numbers down and drive yours up," says Brock.
