Grimes internal shows her up 2

A new internal poll from Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes shows her leading Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) by 2 points.

{mosads}The poll, conducted by the Mellman Group, gives Grimes 42 percent support to McConnell’s 40 percent support among likely voters, with libertarian David Patterson taking 3 percent. Sixteen percent were undecided.

Grimes and McConnell both draw about the same level of support from their respective parties, with 75 percent of Democrats for Grimes and 73 percent of Republicans for McConnell. Grimes, however, has a 9-point advantage among independents.

That runs in contrast, however, to a long series of public polling in the race, which has shown McConnell breaking open a solid lead over the past month and a half.

McConnell remains underwater in the new poll — only 37 percent of respondents approve of the job he’s doing, while 58 percent disapprove. Voters are split on Grimes, Kentucky’s secretary of State, with 40 percent approving of her job performance and 39 percent viewing her unfavorably.

The poll shows little movement from Grimes’s last internal poll, conducted earlier this month, in which she led McConnell by a point.

But it does indicate McConnell’s image is improving, while Grimes’s is staying static. In her last internal poll, 61 percent of respondents disapproved of his job performance, and 32 percent approved. He’s gone from a net -29 approval rating to a net -21 approval rating.

For Grimes, both those who approve and disapprove of her job performance have increased by only a point.

That reflects the shift in messaging from McConnell and his allies over the past month. They’ve been airing ads touting McConnell’s work for the state and, most recently, launched a feel-good spot that showcased McConnell’s work to bring a kidnapped girl home.

Some Democrats have expressed concerns that Grimes hasn’t yet defined herself in voters’ minds, a possibility that might be reflected in this new internal poll.

Still, the poll shows Grimes has a considerable advantage on personal attributes that are attractive to voters. She’s seen, by a wide margin, as the candidate who “will work to create good jobs,” “cares about people like you,” “shares your values” and “protects Social Security and Medicare.”

The survey was conducted among 1,800 likely voters from Sept. 19-27 via landline and cell phone, and has a margin of error of 2.3 percent. 

Mark Mellman is a columnist for The Hill.

—This piece was updated at 2 p.m.