New poll highlights Senate race stalemate

The United States Senate race is a dead heat between contenders Republican Richard Mourdock and Democrat Joe Donnelly, just as it was in mid-August.

Donnelly leads Mourdock 40 percent to 38 percent among likely voters, though the survey’s 3.5 percent margin of error suggests a virtual tie, according to new September statistics from the Howey-DePauw general election survey.

The Howey-DePauw survey sampled 800 people between Sept. 19-23. Only 10 percent of respondents were ages 18-24. Sixty percent of those surveyed were older than 45. The vast majority, 88 percent, was Caucasian. The largest demographic, self-identifying moderates, made up 35 percent of the sample.

Libertarian candidate Andy Horning showed a 7 percent share, a likely pull from Mourdock votes.

This deadlock mirrors mid-August, when a similar survey released by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce showed Mourdock leading Donnelly 41 percent to 39 percent. At that time, only 3 percent supported Horning.

This tight race bucks the trend of notable Republican leads in other races across the state.

Gubernatorial Democratic candidate John Gregg trails behind competitor Rep. Mike Pence, R-6th District, 34 percent to 47 percent. The Libertarian in that race, Rupert Boneham, took 5 percent.

And in a change from the last election, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney handily leads President Barack Obama in Indiana 52 percent to 40 percent.

The survey didn’t just ask questions regarding the vote. It also looked at favorability and name recognition.

Republicans led their Democratic competitors in those elements. Mourdock narrowly beat Donnelly in favorability 26 percent to 24 percent, while Pence similarly led Gregg 39 percent to 20 percent.

Thirteen percent of those surveyed didn’t know who Mourdock was compared to Donnelly’s 21 percent. Forty-five percent did not recognize the name Gregg, a far cry from Pence’s 19 percent.

At the same time, while boasting higher levels of name recognition, Republicans Mourdock and Pence had higher unfavorable impression ratings than their Democrat competitors, 32 percent and 18 percent respectively, compared to Donnelly’s 21 percent and Gregg’s 11 percent.