CBS News / Politico
Tuesday, January 15 2008
www.cbsnews.com / www.politico.com

Robin Hayes Trailing Dem Opponent In November Poll

By Josh Kraushaar

(The Politico) Rep. Robin Hayes (R-N.C.), who barely fended off a challenge from high school teacher Larry Kissell in 2006, is facing another tough rematch, according to a Democrat-sponsored poll conducted last November.

The poll shows Hayes trailing Kissell, 49 to 47 percent in a head-to-head matchup.

Even more worrisome for district-wide Republicans is the fact that only 37 percent of likely voters said they approved of President Bush's performance in office – this, in a district where 49 percent of voters identified themselves as conservatives.

The poll, commissioned by the liberal Center for American Progress Action Fund and the influential SEIU labor union, surveyed 400 likely voters in the district between November 13-15. It has a margin of error of 4.9 percent.

It was conducted by the Democratic polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, which polled in eight other Congressional districts.

Kissell narrowly lost to Hayes by just 329 votes in 2006, in one of the closest Congressional races in the country. The district, centered in the Charlotte exurbs, has leaned Republican in recent years, giving President Bush 54 percent of the vote in the 2004 presidential election.

The Kissell campaign said the results were similar to a May 2007 internal poll in which Kissell was trailing by two points.