Zogby: Talent Up By 5

Forget that pesky monthly SurveyUSA tracking poll that is biased . . . so say conservatives.
Enter a new June Zogby Interactive poll published by the Wall Street Journal this week. It's boffo (a quirky word for good) news for Senator Jim Talent.

According to the poll, Talent leads Democrat Claire McCaskill 49% to 44%. It's a 5 point lead for the junior senator, who won the seat after a special election in 2002. With just over 4 months to the election, this is Talent's largest lead since Zogby began polling the race.
Pollster Zogby even highlights the Talent lead in his summary of the 17 U.S. Senate races he is tracking. "Among bright spots for the Republicans . . . Jim Talent's lead grew," Zogby writes. "The lead, though, is still within the poll's margin of error."

Just by the numbers, that makes the Talent-McCaskill battle tied for the 4th most competitive race in the country this year.

Which one is the most competitive? A shout-out to my home state of New Jersey, where Democrat Bob Menendez leads Republican Tom Kean Jr. 41% to 40%.

A barnburner in the Garden State, and still a pretty darn close one here . . . Gotta love it!