Kentucky Senate Race Polls 2014: Millennials Prefer Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes But Overall Republican Mitch McConnell Leads
The final week of Kentucky's U.S. Senate race between Republican incumbent Mitch McConnell and Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes is drawing to a close as new polling figures show the five-term senator with a slim lead.
Ahead of the Nov. 4 Election Day, McConnell appears "well-positioned" for a sixth term according to Survey USA, which conducted its final Bluegrass Poll ahead of the election. Overall, McConnell received 48 percent of the poll, while 43 percent favored Grimes. Libertarian candidate David Patterson received 3 percent of the poll, but 6 percent of respondents were undecided.
McConnell also won the survey among male and female voters with 48 percent and 47 percent, respectively. Grimes received 43 percent, each, from male and female voters.
Of four age groups categorized by SurveyUSA, millennials gave Grimes a double-digit victory. Millennials, between the ages of 18 and 34, gave Grimes 45 percent support while McConnell garnered 34 percent. Patterson received 9 percent of support, but 12 percent of millennials were undecided.
As the age groups increase, McConnell's odds to win did as well. Among the 35-through-49-year-old demographic, Grimes and McConnell tied at 45 percent. McConnell would then lead against Grimes with the 50- to 64-year-olds as the incumbent received 53 percent to the challenger's 39 percent. The final age group of respondents 65 and older preferred McConnell with 52 percent while Grimes received 45 percent.
Independent voters nearly tied in supporting either McConnell or Grimes. The Democratic candidate ultimately got the edge over the Republican with 37 percent to 35 percent, respectively. Twenty percent of independent voters were undecided.
Grimes and McConnell are not very popular. McConnell's unfavorable rating hit 44 percent, which is 1 percent higher than Grimes' percentage. The candidates tied in the favorable rating with 37 percent, each. Grimes received a 14 percent "neutral" rating, while McConnell was 1 percent behind.
Both candidates have received controversy on not disclosing personal aspects. Grimes refused to disclose whether or not she voted for President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. With 41 percent, respondents said they "do not care" about her voting choices, but 39 percent said she should have answered the question. With 21 percent, respondents said she has the right to not answer the question.
McConnell has refused to clarify his opinion if climate change is a result of human activity. Similar to Grimes, 41 percent said they do not care about his opinion, but 53 percent said he should answer the question. Six percent of respondents said McConnell should not answer the climate change question.
McConnell's 5 percent lead over Grimes is reminiscent of Survey USA's final poll in 2008 when the Republican campaigned against Democrat Bruce Lunsford. At the time, McConnell had a lead with 8 percentage points. At that time, McConnell also won the male and female vote as well as all age groups except millennials.
The Survey USA's final Bluegrass Poll was conducted for the Louisville Courier-Journal, the Lexington Herald-Leader, WHAS-TV and WKYT-TV. The survey included interviews with 800 Kentuckian adults, including 704 registered voters, between Oct. 25 and Oct. 29. Survey USA noted of the 704 registered voters, 597 individuals will likely vote on Nov. 4.
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