Talent Extends Lead in Zogby Poll

A new Wall Street Journal-Zogby poll shows Senator Jim Talent pulling ahead of
Democrat Claire McCaskill with just over 70 days until voters make their decision.

Talent 50%
McCaskill 45%

The poll was conducted between Aug. 15-Aug. 21st and remains within the margin of error, but this is Talent's largest lead in this polling project.

From the Wall Street-Journal:

"Just one percentage point separated these candidates in the initial months of Zogby polling, but Talent's lead in this latest poll is as wide as it has been in the polling project. Zogby notes that Talent has a wide lead among male voters."

Is Talent beginning to show signs of pulling away?

Missouri State University political science professor George Connor is cautionary about reading too much into these numbers. "I wouldn't say it is significant yet. The ads are significant," Connor said.

"Talent's ads are tapping into the working across party lines message. I think his bump is in part due to securing moderate leaning Republicans, some independents that don't like Congress because of the constant bickering. In these ads, Talent is highlighting his work with the other side," Connor said.

"I don't think this is the beginning of the end for Claire. If this goes beyond the margin of error next time and the time after that, then we'll start to look at it more seriously," Connor said.

Political science professor Stacey Ulbig is not ready to read too much into these numbers either. "You may not be seeing real fluctuations, just sampling fluctuations. It's still close, within the margin of error," Ulbig said.