Tipsheet

Poll Shows Republican Challenger Ahead in WA Senate Race

Madeline Leesman
Madeline Leesman  |  November 08, 2022 3:15 PM

A poll released two days before Election Day 2022 shows Sen. Patty Murray’s (D-WA) Republican challenger Tiffany Smiley ahead in the race for the U.S. Senate. 

The poll from Moore Information Group (MIG) shows Smiley with 47.4 percent support, a 0.4 percent lead over Murray at 47 percent. Five percent of respondents in the poll were undecided.

In addition, the poll showed 50 percent of respondents have an unfavorable view of Murray. On the other hand, her favorability rating is 44 percent. Forty-six percent of respondents said they have a favorable opinion of Smiley, while 45 percent said they have an unfavorable opinion of her. 

As for President Joe Biden’s job performance, 52 percent of respondents said they disapprove of how he is handling his presidency. 

The poll write-up pointed out that undecided voters “do not look friendly” towards Murray, as they are pessimistic about the direction that the country is going in. 

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In the findings, 83 percent of undecided voters said the country is on the “wrong track.” Only four percent said they have a favorable view of Murray, compared to 57 percent who said they have an unfavorable view of her. Seventy-five percent said they disapprove of Biden’s job as president while only 21 percent approve. 

“Undecided voters tend to vote against the incumbent, and this group continues to show signs of breaking against Murray and for Smiley,” the write-up added.

“As we head toward Tuesday, and with the fate of the U.S. Senate hanging in the balance, Tiffany Smiley in Washington State may well be the race that tips the scales and gives control of the U.S. Senate back to Republicans,” it concluded. MIG conducted the survey from Nov. 3 to Nov. 5 among 500 likely voters. 

Earlier this month, another poll showed that Smiley and Hassan were statistically tied.

Another poll released by  The Trafalgar Group showed that 49.4 percent of 1,200 likely voters support Murray while 48.2 percent are in favor of Smiley. The poll has a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points. Less than 3 percent of voters said they were undecided.