Hurricane Sandy has obviously shaken up the final full week of the 2012 campaign season. You can’t pay attention to the news today without reading or hearing or watching some story about the impact on the presidential race.
But with everyone focused on the weather, Rasmussen Reports today quietly released a new poll of the U.S. Senate race between Democrat Chris Murphy and Republican Linda McMahon, which has the former leading 51 percent to 45 percent.
The official line from the campaigns on the impact of Sandy on the race is that they’re focused on the safety of workers, supporters and the general public at this time and will assess the state of the race after the storm passes.
But I’d rather be the candidate weathering the hurricane with a lead because the disruption just makes it that harder for my opponent to close the gap.
One of McMahon’s strengths has been the ability of her self-funded, well-funded campaign to dominate the airwaves. Her audience is greatly diminished if Sandy leaves much of the state without electricity.
Also Murphy, as a sitting congressman, has the advantage of incumbency and being able to show up at emergency briefings and field concerns from constituents without appearing to simply be trying to score political points.