Don't it make my red state blue. . .

Speaking of polling, Rassmussen's new poll out today shows Alaska slipping out of GOP control for the first time ever. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican Senator in history, is losing 50-41 to Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, who was just 6 years old when Stevens was first elected in 1968:



While Stevens won with 78% of the vote back in 20002, several incidents since that time have caused even 20% of the GOP faithful to rally against him. Stevens is reportedly the only senator to have had his home raided by Feds, and then there was that "bridge to nowhere" deal. . .

Normally, an Alaska Republican in trouble could count on some help from the top of the ticket. In its entire history, Alaska has voted for a Democratic Presidential candidate just once, and that was forty-four years ago. This year, however, John McCain holds just a single-digit lead over Barack Obama in Alaska.

Another one bites the dust. . .

Obama widens lead over McSame

The latest polling numbers from Rasmussen:

Democratic Party membership is surging

Party ID: Dem 41.5% GOP 31.8%


Rasmussen Reports is reporting a huge surge in the number of Democrats in the United States. Last months numbers reflect the highest Democratic numerical advantage ever measured by Rasmussen:

In February, the number of Americans who consider themselves to be Democrats jumped to 41.5%, the highest total on record. Just 31.8% consider themselves to be Republicans. The partisan gap—a 9.7 percentage point advantage for the Democrats—is by far the largest it has ever been. The previous high was a 6.9 point edge for the Democrats in December 2006. Rasmussen Reports tracks this information based upon telephone interviews with approximately 15,000 adults per month and has been doing so since November 2002.

The 9.7 percentage point advantage for Democrats is up from a 5.6 point advantage a month ago and a 2.1 point advantage two months ago. The surge for the Democrats is especially notable because it reversed a modest trend in the GOP direction that unfolded over much of calendar year 2007 (see history from January 2004 to present).

The report shows that Democrats are leading among men, women, the poor, what's left of the middle class, retirees, and government employees. Republicans hold slight leads among income brackets over $75,000 and entrepreneurs, both of which are my demographics.

Obama leading in N.H. Polls

The first post-Iowa poll, by Rasmussen, finds Obama jumping to a 10% lead over Hillary in New Hampshire, with Edwards trailing badly.

Barack Obama	37%
Hillary Clinton	27%
John Edwards	19%
Bill Richardson	8%
Dennis Kucinich	3%
Mike Gravel	1%

Now the American Research Group (ARG) poll, also post-Iowa, may confirm this, showing Obama with a shocking 12% bulge over Clinton at 38% to 26%, with Edwards picking up a fresh 5% and actually threatening Hillary with 20%. That's a 16% swing to Obama since the previous poll.

Most interesting detail deep in the ARG numbers: Hillary actually leads Obama 34% to 32% among confirmed Democrats, while he tops her 49% to 12% among independents, which may make up one-third of the tally. Debate tonight should be interesting....