Public Policy Polling Finds Allen and Kaine Tied

As if to put more pressure on former Democratic Governor Tim Kain to run for Jim Webb's open seat in 2012, Democratic leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP) has released the results of a poll featuring possible matchups between George Allen and several challengers. Kaine fares best with a 47-47 tie with Allen. 

Kaine is slightly more popular than Allen, sporting a 46/38 favorability spread to Allen's 39/40. Both benefit from a pretty unified party base, with 87% of Republicans going toward Allen and 86% of Democrats to Kaine. Allen is able to earn the tie despite the fact that there are likely to be more Democratic than Republican voters in a Presidential year electorate because independents lean toward him by a 50/41 margin.

PPP also ran match-ups between Allen and former congressmen Tom Perriello and Rick Boucher. Both lose to Allen according to the poll but PPP surmises that may be due to lack of name recognition.  Most people presume that Allen will be the GOP nominee but he already has one challenger for the nomination, Tea Party leader and former Allen staffer Jamie Radtke.  There is also talk that Delegate Bob Marshall and Prince William County Board of Supervisor Chairman Corey Stewart may jump in.  The conventional wisdom is though that the anti-Allen votes on the right will be spilt between multiple candidates and Allen will win the primary.  If however Radtke ends up being the only candidate in the race, anything can happen as we saw when Webb upset Allen in 2006.

Hat tip to Roll Call Politics.