Poll shows Puckett has ground to make up on Donnelly

by Jim Pinkerton (jmpinkerton@wsbt.com)

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Luke Puckett talks to his supporters after winning the Republican nomination to challenge Indiana 2nd District Congressman Joe Donnelly

Luke Puckett talks to his supporters after winning the Republican nomination to challenge Indiana 2nd District Congressman Joe Donnelly. (WSBT photo)

By Jim Pinkerton

Story Created: Oct 2, 2008 at 5:50 PM EST

Story Updated: Oct 8, 2008 at 11:32 AM EST

SOUTH BEND — New poll results are out in the race for Indiana's Second District Congressional seat. Republican Luke Puckett is challenging incumbent Democrat Joe Donnelly.

Our exclusive WSBT South Bend Tribune poll shows Puckett has some work to do between now and November. After a massive advertising blitz, Donnelly has an 18 point lead over Puckett.

If the election were held today, 53 percent of the 400 people we surveyed say they'd vote for the incumbent Democrat. 35 percent would vote for Puckett.

Puckett says despite trailing, he's encouraged by the numbers.

"Here's our current congressman who has spent hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars in three campaigns in this district and literally only 53% of this district is saying they want him in Washington, D.C.," Puckett said.

Donnelly's campaign manager says they're also encouraged by the poll.

"We're very happy to hear that. I think it's a reflection of the congressman's hard work. But at the end of the day, we don't worry about poll numbers. We're focused on doing our job with 33 days out," said Andrew Lattanner, Donnelly Campaign Manager.

Our poll shows voters are focused on issues more than a candidate's likability. Indiana University South Bend political scientist Elizabeth Bennion says those numbers may be misleading.

"The thing that we know is that partisanship is the one determinate of somebody's vote when they step into that balloting box. The second determinate tends to be candidate image," she said, adding the third is "issue voting," although partisanship and issue voting are tied together.

Our poll shows almost 40 percent of those surveyed don't have an opinion about Puckett. Bennion says he'll need to work hard to make up ground.

"What he would need to see is a major mistake or gaff by Donnelly that would simply drive people away from Donnelly looking for an alternative."

Puckett isn't waiting for that to happen. He's just started putting out lawn signs and billboards and plans to launch TV ads in the coming weeks.

Donnelly's camp says it will continue moving ahead with what they've been doing.

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