The contest for the U. S. Senate seat in Missouri held by Democrat Claire McCaskill is turning into a very tight one, both in the Republican primary and the November general election.
The three GOP candidates are within five percentage points of each other in the primary, according to a study last week by Public Policy Polling.
The North Carolina firm’s numbers indicate that John Brunner has moved up closer to Todd Akin and Sarah Steelman.
According to the pollster, Brunner has moved up 7 points since January, Steelman has dropped four and Akin is unchanged.
The study finds McCaskill’s approval spread is at 40/50, but only 56 percent of those questioned were familiar with Steelman. The familiarity issue goes to 43 percent for Brunner and a point lower for Akin.
Brunner was top polling choice for voters who considered themselves, “very conservative.”
In the general election, PPP finds McCaskill nearly tied with all of her opponents on the Republican side. She leads Brunner 46 to 44 percent, is even with Steelman and down one point to Akin.
The pollster surveyed 602 Missourians between May 24th and 27th. The error margin is plus or minus 4 points.