In 2010, Democrats spent the summer trying to convince anyone who would listen that Dan Coats and Brad Ellsworth were essentially tied. They weren’t. Ellsworth’s fate was sealed when he entered the race and spent a year of his life running for the privilege of losing by 15 points. The 2010 election cycle in Indiana, and across the nation, was obviously largely determined by the unpopularity of President Obama’s domestic agenda. Not much has changed, except Democrats are back at it, peddling internal polls that show a neck-and-neck race for U.S. Senate.
“A new poll conducted for Rep. Joe Donnelly’s (D-Ind.) Senate campaign shows him tied with newly minted GOP nominee Richard Mourdock…conducted by Democratic pollster Global Strategy Group.” (Aaron Blake, “Mourdock and Donnelly tied at 40 in Indiana, Democratic poll shows,” Washington Post, 5/14/12)
That was last week. Around this time two years ago, we were told the same story.
“Former Sen. Dan Coats (R) is in a statistical tie with Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D) in a hypothetical match-up in this fall’s Indiana Senate race, according to a Daily Kos poll set to be released Monday… sent around Sunday by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).” (Jordan Fabian, “Coats neck-and-neck with Ellsworth in race to replace Bayh,” The Hill, 2/28/10)
ObamaCare. Stimulus. “Blue Dog Democrat.” Now leaked internal polls…this really is a sequel of the Ellsworth campaign.
