RK ARCHIVE - George Allen: 50th Most Popular Senator. Wow.

Today, there's more evidence on this point, courtesy of the latest SurveyUSA poll of all 100 U.S. Senators. Turns out that as of May 2006, in terms of "net approval" ratings, George Allen ranks right in the middle of all US Senators, at #50. Only 53% of Virginians approve of his performance, while 37% disapprove Mediocre ratings, in other words. And, believe it or not, 53% is actually an improvement from last month, when Allen's job approval rating dipped to 49%.

As all of us political junkies know, a rating below 50% is "danger zone" territory for incumbents in an election year. Yet that's where George Allen finds himself hovering, just above 50% in the May 2006 poll and below 50% in April. And this is before Jim Webb, the soon-to-be Democratic nominee, starts raising boatloads of money and going after Allen. When that happens, watch out!

Oh, one other point for those who think Allen is so "popular." In 2000, Allen beat Chuck Robb with just 52% of the vote, to 48% for the (then) scandal-tarnished Robb. Not exactly a landslide victory for the southern California "cowboy." And since then, Allen has done absolutely NOTHING in the US Senate, except of course to vote with his hero, George W. Bush, 97% of the time. Not exactly a compelling case for re-election, or for an unbeatable Senator, especially when Jim "Born Fighting" Webb starts going after him. This is going to be fun.

Comments

While this poll shows vulnerability (va.walter - 5/24/2006 7:56:37 AM)

I'm a little concerned about some of the underlying numbers. Allen's at 69% with conservatives (okay that's not a surprise). But he's also at 55% with men, 52% with women, 67% with hispanics (shocking), and 50% with independents. He's even at 41% with black voters and 39% with Democratic voters. All of this with a President he's aligned with polling in the low 30s across the board. To me, those numbers show some underlying strength across the board and Allen would be tough to beat if they hold (especially the minority, female and independent numbers).

The race is winable but these numbers should tell us all that we have an uphill battle to fight.

Just shows us we need to get the word out about Jim Webb. (summercat - 5/24/2006 8:51:12 AM)

I wonder what the comparable numbers are for John Warner? And I think that Webb can pull a lot of the men and independents easily, and probably make serious inroads with women and African-Americans. The deal with Allen is that the Dems have offered no alternative till now.
Here's a LTTE that came out in today's Hampton Roads Daily Press. Nice support for Webb from a pretty red area. We need a lot of these to be written by Web supporters, and sent to their local papers.

Vote for Webb

Many thanks for calling attention to the TV debate between Democratic senatorial candidates James Webb and Harris Miller, moderated by Joel Rubin ("At week's end," May 20). Without your help I would have missed this opportunity to compare these candidates and might have voted blindly. Now my eyes have been opened, and I feel compelled to express my observations for those who missed this debate. All Virginia voters, regardless of party lines, can and should go to the polls on June 13 to choose the Democratic candidate. Voters need to realize that this candidate can - and must - defeat the incumbent Bush-clone George Allen (who admits that he is so "bored" with the Senate that he aspires to succeed Bush). That is why the selection of the best Democratic candidate is vital.

I strongly endorse James Webb. In the debate he showed himself to be very much his own man, unusually articulate, experienced in government service (secretary of the navy under President Reagan) and author of several books. He gave clearly reasoned, practical and convincing answers on all the issues Rubin raised.

Miller, in glaring and almost embarrassing contrast, had nothing to offer beyond rehearsed, memorized, parrot-like responses (in the manner of Jerry Kilgore) to the effect that President George Bush and Sen. George Allen are bad for the country. He gave no indication that he had any clue whatsoever about how he could change anything.

Webb, on the other hand, came across as capable of being a hard-hitting and forceful agent of change on the national scene.

I urge voters to go to the polls on June 13 and vote for Webb. Then return to the polls in November and send him to the Senate.

Emily Wood

Yorktown

I think Warner was 57% overall. (va.walter - 5/24/2006 8:54:22 AM)

Considering Allen is in an election year and is considered the "more conservative" of the 2, those numbers sound about right. What you will most likely see over the next few months is Allen's approval rating stay about the same while his disapproval rating will go up a few points as the campaign heats up. The truth is, Allen's approvals never fall far below 50% which means the Democratic nominee will have to get votes from people who "approve" of Allen. Certainly not impossible but definitely an uphill battle.