Murray expands lead over Republican challenger in Senate race: poll

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) holds a double digit lead over likely GOP challenger Tiffany Smiley in the November race to retain her U.S. Senate seat, according to new polling released this week.

The SurveyUSA poll, conducted from July 6 to July 10, shows Murray leading Smiley by a 51 percent to 33 percent margin.

Twenty-eight percent of likely Washington state voters say abortion is the most important issue for them ahead of the November election after the Supreme Court last month overturned the nearly 50-year constitutional right to abortion. Among those voters, Murray leads 71 percent to 11 percent.

Smiley, however, has a 54 percent to 30 percent lead among the 20 percent of voters in the poll who say inflation is the top issue for them.

Murray, the senior senator in her state and the chairwoman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, is seeking a sixth term. The primary election in Washington is scheduled for Aug. 2, and Murray faces more than a dozen challengers.

The top two candidates who win Washington’s primary election will advance to the general election, no matter their party affiliation.

Smiley, who grew up in the rural part of the state, champions her background as the wife of a military veteran who lost his eyesight while fighting in Iraq, according to her campaign website.

Murray has raised more than $11 million for her campaign so far, far higher than Smiley’s $4.2 million, according to NBC affiliate King 5 TV.

The SurveyUSA poll was conducted from July 6 to July 10 among 825 Washington state adults. The Seattle Times, KING 5 TV, the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public and Washington State University’s Murrow College of Communication requested the poll.