Here’s a stunning poll result that suggests this might be a really awful year for Democrats after all:

Republican Gov. Paul LePage has opened a lead over Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud in the closing weeks of the gubernatorial campaign, according to a Maine Sunday Telegram/Portland Press Herald poll. The findings mark a significant shift from previous polls showing both candidates running in a virtual dead heat.
LePage leads Michaud 45 percent to 35 percent, with independent Eliot Cutler at 16 percent and 4 percent undecided, according to the poll of 639 likely voters conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. The landline and cellphone poll has a 3.8 percent margin of error and was conducted from Oct. 15 to 21, a period that coincided with three televised debates, leaving questions about whether the forums affected the results.

For most of the year, LePage has been tied or trailed slightly in a three-way race. If this survey is accurate, voters are starting to make their decisions:

LePage’s favorability and job approval ratings have improved and his Republican support is locked. Meanwhile, Michaud’s support among Democrats has declined 10 percent, he and Cutler continue to split the anti-LePage vote, and President Obama’s approval rating — a bellwether for Democratic and Republican voter enthusiasm — continues to fall.

Maybe it’s a big Republican wave election after all?