Democrat David Krikorian has released a new Pulse Opinion Research poll showing him trailing Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) by just five points, 44-39.
Schmidt has high negatives, and it’s not all that surprising to see someone who is known to voters fairing reasonably well against her; Krikorian ran in 2008 as an independent, and he took the highest percentage of any third-party candidate in the country: 18 percent.
But it’s still got to be encouraging for Krikorian that he starts out with Schmidt under 50. She remains one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the country, despite her 59 percent McCain district.
The mid-40s is right where she was in November, when she was saved (arguably) by Krikorian’s ability to steal votes from Democrat Victoria Wulsin — another candidate with some liabilities.
With the numbers holding steady for Schmidt, it looks the worst thing that could happen to Krikorian is … well … a third-party candidate.