PORTLAND, Maine - A new poll in Maine's three-way governor's race indicates that Democrat Mike Michaud is gaining ground at the expense of independent Eliot Cutler.
The Pan Atlantic SMS poll shows Republican Gov. Paul LePage and Democratic challenger Mike Michaud now running neck and neck, with about 40 percent of the vote each. Of the remaining 20 percent of voters, nearly 13 percent are supporting Cutler and just over 7 percent are still undecided. That's a gain of about 6 percent for Michaud over the firm's previous poll, and a loss of about 6 percent for Cutler.
The telephone poll was conducted between Oct. 15 and Oct. 21. It included a randomly selected sample of 400 Maine residents, who describe themselves as "very" or "somewhat" likely to vote. It has a margin of error of 4.9 percent.
Its results differ significantly from another poll by the Maine Sunday Telegram, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center and released over the weekend. That poll showed LePage ahead of Michaud 45 percent to 35 percent, with Cutler garnering 16 percent. The poll had a margin of error of 3.8 percent.
In Maine's congressional districts, the latest Pan Atlantic SMS poll shows Democrat Emily Cain with a slight edge over Republican Bruce Poliquin in Maine's 2nd District, with about 39 percent supporting Cain and about 38 percent going for Poliquin. Nearly 8 percent say they'd vote for independent Blaine Richardson and almost 16 percent are still undecided.
The 1st District results give Democratic incumbent Rep. Chellie Pingree a wide lead over Republican Isaac Misiuk, 62 percent to 18 percent. Independent Richard Murphy has about 6 percent in that contest, and nearly 14 percent are undecided.
In the Senate race, the latest Pan Atlantic SMS poll shows incumbent Sen. Susan Collins trouncing Democratic challenger Shenna Bellows 67 percent to 27 percent, with 6.5 percent undecided.
View the entire Pan Atlantic SMS poll.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Pan Atlantic SMS President Patrick Murphy Tuesday said the portion of the new poll dealing with the bear hunting referendum on the November ballot has been retracted. He says an outdated question was used in that part of the poll.
