For a long while, Ohio and Nevada looked like relatively easy GOP Senate pickups this fall. Polling out this morning suggests that at least for now, they look like dogfights.
In Nevada:
According to the Mason-Dixon poll taken Monday through Wednesday, if the general election were held today, here’s how the leading Republican contenders would fare against Reid:
■ Lowden would win 42 percent of the vote and Reid 39 percent. Ten percent remain undecided, 6 percent would choose “none” of these candidates and 3 percent would pick “other” contenders.
■ Tarkanian would get 42 percent and Reid 41 percent, with 10 percent undecided, 4 percent choosing other and 3 percent picking none.
■ Reid would win 42 percent and Angle 39 percent with 10 percent undecided, 5 percent picking other candidates and 4 percent choosing none.
Meanwhile in Ohio:
The first University of Cincinnati Ohio Poll of the general election campaign finds Democratic Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and former Republican congressman Rob Portman are just about even in their bids for the Senate.
The poll says Fisher has 47% to 46% for Portman.
In the governor’s race, Democratic incumbent Ted Strickland has a slight lead over Republican challenger John Kasich.
The landline and cell phone survey puts Strickland ahead 49-44%.
The unemployment rate in Nevada is 13.7 percent; the unemployment rate in Ohio is 10.9 percent.