As Don Young Gets Challenger, New Poll Shows Approval At Six-Year Low

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Earlier today Steve Lindbeck announced he would be running for the Democratic Party’s nomination to challenge Congressman Don Young. Polling released today shows Young may be growing more vulnerable.

The polling, conducted by Alaska Survey Research in mid-March, shows Congressman Young falling in popularity. 36.7% of respondents said they have a positive view of the Congressman while 36.5% say they view him negatively. That is down from December of 2010 when the Congressman scored a 59% positive rating in the same polling track.

To have a favorable rating under 40% and be statistically tied in constituent’s positive vs negative view of their performance isn’t a good sign for such a long serving and well known incumbent.

Perhaps more notably, the results mark a six-year low in Alaska Survey Research’s quarterly track polling.

Pollster Ivan Moore, who conducted the poll, said of Young:

“His rating continues to drop… it’s been a long time since he got close to being “underwater” i.e. having a negative higher than his positive. And to make matters worse, he picked up a credible opponent today in Steve Lindbeck.”

As for Moore’s view of Lindbeck’s chances of beating Young in light of the new numbers?

“Two downsides for Lindbeck… one, he’s not a household name by any means, two, he’s got a resume that is firmly entrenched on the liberal side of things… but on the upsides, Alaska is less conservative than it used to be and less inclined to reject candidates on the basis of ideology, and, probably most importantly, Don Young is not as strong, from a positive-negative point of view, than he was at this time two years ago, or four years ago. Of course it’s been said 21 times before, but this might be the time Don Young takes a fall. But then again, it might not.”