Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann appears to be in danger of losing her House seat.
According to an internal poll conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for Democrat Jim Graves, Bachmann’s challenger, the two are locked in a tight race.
The poll of 401 likely voters found that if the election were held today, Bachmann would lead the relatively unknown Graves by just five points — 47 percent to 42 percent.
Including undecided voters who are leaning toward one candidate, the race narrows to a two-point gap, with Bachmann leading 48-46.
That’s in spite of the fact that Graves has only 38 percent name identification in the district, while Bachmann is a household name.
Voters appear to be unenthusiastic about Bachmann’s handling of her job. The conservative firebrand, first elected in 2006, unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination earlier this year.
Only 40 percent of residents in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District rate Bachmann’s job performance in Congress as “excellent” or “good,” according to the poll. Twenty-two percent described her performance as “just fair” and 35 percent rated it as “poor.”
The poll was conducted August 29-30.
Internal polls need to be taken with a grain of salt. Poll aside, the demographics of the district are not favorable for Graves: redistricting made the district even more lopsided in favor of Republicans.