Tipsheet

Poll: Alaska Republicans Want Palin for Senate

It's been rumored for months that former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin might run for the U.S. Senate. Three weeks ago, Palin herself told Sean Hannity on his radio show that she was "considering it."

Hannity then asked Palin if she had considered running for Senate from Alaska. “I’ve considered it because people have requested me considering it, but I’m still waiting to see what the lineup will be….I’m glad you brought that up because Sen. Mark Begich has got to be replaced. He has not done what he has promised to do for the people of Alaska, and that was to represent what it is that the nation needs in terms of energy development and so many other natural resource development issues that are near and dear to an Alaskan’s heart. Because he’s on the wrong side of the aisle, he has to go along to get along with his Democrat leadership, and that’s a shame, that’s a waste of opportunity for our nation.”

A new Public Policy Poll shows Palin is a top choice for the Republican primary and is leading other potential candidates by 10 points.

Alaska should be a top tier pick up opportunity for Senate Republicans next year...but their top choice of a candidate is Sarah Palin. 36% of GOP primary voters in the state say they'd like Palin to be their standard bearer against Mark Begich to 26% for Mead Treadwell, 15% for Dan Sullivan, and 12% for Joe Miller. Palin leads mostly based on her strength with 'very conservative' voters where she gets 43% to 20% for Treadwell, but she also leads him 28/25 with moderates.

The bad news? She's still down with voters outside of the Republican primary in a match up with Democratic Senator Mark Begich.

It all adds up to a 52/40 lead for Begich in a hypothetical match up with Palin. He leads by 21 points with independents, 56/35, and takes 20% of the Republican vote. It's a slight improvement for Palin from February when we found her trailing Begich 54/38.