New Polls Show Republican Lead in Key States in Midterm Elections
New polls showed Sunday that Republican Senate candidates are surging ahead in key states, including Iowa, in this week's midterm elections, even as President Obama made a final push to help struggling Democrats.
In Iowa, Republican Joni Ernst beat Democrat Bruce Braley by seven points in The Des Moines Register's final Iowa Poll released Sunday.
State senator Ernst enjoys 51 percent support among likely voters, as opposed to congressman Braley's count of 44 percent.
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It's Ernst's biggest lead in the three Iowa Polls conducted this fall, says The Des Moines Register.
"This race looks like it's decided," J. Ann Selzer, who conducted the poll for the Register, was quoted as saying. "That said, there are enormous resources being applied to change all that."
"I think the wind is at our back," Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said on CNN's "State of the Union." Obama also said that the GOP will "in all likelihood" win control of the Senate. "I think people are ready for new leadership."
Republicans, who already have a majority in the House, are also leading in the key states of Kentucky, Georgia and Louisiana, according to NBC News/Marist polls released Sunday.
Republicans need only six seats to have a majority in the Senate. They are likely to pick up seats being vacated by retiring Democrats in Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia. Prospects of GOP candidates are bright also in Alaska and Arkansas given that the party has won consistently in the two states.
"This is really the last chance for America to pass judgment on the Obama administration and its policies," former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said on "Fox News Sunday."
Obama, whose state-level approval ratings have gone down, has made appearances mostly in states where his party appears to have relatively better prospects.
On Sunday, he was in Connecticut with Democratic Gov. Dan Malloy, who is in a race with Republican rival Tom Foley and is leading with only 0.7 percent, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls.
Hecklers interrupted Obama, who is considering an executive order to remove the threat of deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants, at least three times as he spoke about his immigration policies, according to Reuters.
"This is part of why elections are so important," Obama was quoted as saying. "The other side has a very different vision."
Obama later went to Philadelphia for a rally with Tom Wolf, who is leading with 11 points in the race with Republican Gov. Tom Corbett in Pennsylvania, according to an average of polls by RealClearPolitics.
