Poll: Grimes leads McConnell in Kentucky

A new Kentucky poll shows Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes with a slim lead over Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R).

Grimes is ahead of the top Senate Republican with 46 percent support to 44 among likely voters in SurveyUSA’s Bluegrass Poll. It marks a turn from late August, when a poll by the same company showed McConnell ahead by four percentage points. 

{mosads}Fewer likely voters polled said they remained undecided, with the election only weeks away. Eighty-two percent of likely voters have decided on a candidate and only 16 percent believe that they could change their minds.

No major independent poll has shown Grimes leading since June, according to a RealClearPolitics summary of polling data.

McConnell spokeswoman Allison Moore said that their campaign isn’t concerned about the latest Bluegrass poll.

“‎After fourteen straight public polls all showing Sen. McConnell with a clear lead, this Bluegrass Poll is obviously an outlier,” she said by email. “We’re very comfortable with where this race stands and are confident Sen. McConnell will be re-elected in November.”

The poll, though, could boost the Grimes campaign, coming just a few weeks after Kentucky’s largest newspaper said that she might need a “campaign reset.”

The Hill reported in September that state Democratic strategists are growing worried about Grimes’s ability to topple the unpopular GOP senator who’s been a target of the left since the beginning of the Obama presidency.  

“Today’s new Bluegrass Poll reflects the overwhelming grassroots enthusiasm Alison and our campaign see everyday across the Commonwealth,” campaign manager Jonathan Hurst said in an emailed statement. 

“Today, Kentuckians made their voice heard: they are ready for a new Senator who will put the people of Kentucky first — not one who cares more about his own self-promotion.”

McConnell’s seat holds symbolic importance to both parties, as Democrats try to stave off a Republican takeover of the Senate and knock off a chief antagonist.

But a win by McConnell is key to Republicans as they look to shore up their numbers and pick up six seats to take control of the upper chamber.

The automated poll was conducted from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 and has a 4-point margin of error. Automated polls are less reliable.

This story was updated at 2:41 p.m.