Poll: Grassley, Bennet holding off challengers in Iowa, Colorado

Sen. Chuck Grassley is leading his primary challenger by 9 points in Iowa, a poll released Thursday shows. 

{mosads}The Quinnipiac University poll shows the six-term Republican leading his Democratic challenger, former Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, 51 percent to 42 percent.

“Iowans have known, liked and voted for Sen. Chuck Grassley for decades. That’s why he appears in strong position to avoid the kind of down-ballot bloodletting that may hurt some Republicans in other states who are not as well attuned to the views and values of their home base,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll.

“Sen. Grassley’s chances for reelection also are helped by the fact that Donald Trump is running better in Iowa against Hillary Clinton than Trump is in many other states,” he said.

Grassley’s seat is considered to be relatively safe as Republicans seek to maintain control of the Senate in November.

A RealClearPolitics polling average shows Grassley leading Judge by 7.8 percentage points.

Meanwhile in Colorado, first-term Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet has a double-digit lead over his Republican opponent, El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn. 

The poll shows Bennet leading Glenn 54 percent to 38 percent among likely voters in the state.

Tim Malloy, assistant director of the poll, noted that Glenn still has time to “summon enough support to win a Senate seat the GOP sorely needs.” 

A RealClearPolitics polling average gives Bennet a 13-point lead. 

The Iowa poll surveyed 846 likely voters, and the Colorado poll surveyed 830 likely voters. Both polls were conducted Aug. 9–16 and had margins of error of 3.4 points.