Tammy Baldwin is polling within the
margin of error against all 3 of her potential Republican rivals in
her bid to become the first openly gay U.S. Senator.
A new Public Policy Polling (PPP)
survey released Friday shows Baldwin within 2 percentage points of
former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson, considered the front-runner
in the race for the seat being vacated by Wisconsin Senator Herb
Kohl.
The Wisconsin Representative edges out
former Congressman Mark Neumann by 1 percentage point, and Wisconsin
Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald by 4 points. She holds an even
wider 7 point advantage against Frank Lasee.
“Baldwin's standing is much improved
from when PPP polled Wisconsin in August,” said PPP's Tom Jensen in
releasing
the poll. “She's up 6 points against Thompson, whom she had
trailed by 8, and she's doing 5 points better against Neumann, whom
she had trailed by 4.”
“This will be a very tough race, but
Tammy is a very tough woman,” said Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO
of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, a group devoted to supporting
openly gay elected officials.
“She's fighting for middle-class
families, and that's clearly resonating,” he
added.