Yet Another Poll Showing Sali in the Lead

Greetings Idaho Republicans!

Despite Democrat Walt Minnick’s best efforts, Idaho voters haven’t been fooled by his expensive efforts at repackaging. Walt Minnick is not a conservative, and he most certainly is not a Republican. He’s been a Democrat for a long time, and he still supports liberal Democrat causes.

I thought you might like the numbers from a recent poll, showing Bill Sali firmly in the lead over Walt Minnick. Several other polls have shown Sali with a solid, double-digit lead over Democrat Minnick, and this just reinforces those reports. Enjoy!

Greg Smith

& Associates

----“Assisting Business & Political Decision Makers”-----------------
October 2, 2008

GREG SMITH & ASSOCIATES POLL SHOWS SALI AHEAD OF MINNICK (51%-39%) IN 1ST DISTRICT CONGRESSIONAL RACE

Greg Smith & Associates is releasing the results of a just completed poll among likely Idaho 1st Congressional District voters. In summary, the results show that Republican Congressman Bill Sali is leading Democrat Walt Minnick by 12 points (51%-39%), and appears well positioned to win re-election. The poll was conducted among 200 likely voters on Sept. 25, 26, 29 and 30, was commissioned by the Idaho Republican Party, and the results are well outside of the margin of error.

Smith commented, “I expected a closer result at this stage, if for no other reason than the fact that Minnick has dominated the airwaves for some time, and has buttressed his efforts with ‘negative’ advertising in recent weeks. That suggests that most 1st Congressional District voters strongly support Sali given they share the same views and ideals he has.”

The poll was conducted as Congress debated the high profile $700+ billion Wall Street bailout. A recent poll also conducted by Greg Smith & Associates found that 58 percent of Idahoans disagreed with a bailout package similar to what failed, and what Sali voted against.

Smith added, “The data also suggest that Minnick’s negative campaign has appeared ineffective, as Sali’s support appears to be solidifying over time.”

“My impression is that Sali has received a lot of attention for his stand against the bailout. To that end, voter attitudes toward Bill have certainly been affected,” said Smith. “However, the overall results of this poll are certainly consistent with other polling, including the one conducted by Research 2000 for the liberal Daily Kos blog which showed Sali with a virtually identical 11% lead -– certainly not a site of support for Sali.”