Polls: Dem Senate candidates lead in three states

Multiple new polls released Thursday show good news for Democratic Senate candidates in the battleground states of North Carolina, Wisconsin and Illinois.

{mosads}In a New York Times Upshot/Siena College poll, former state Rep. Deborah Ross (D) holds a 4-point lead over North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr (R), 46 percent to 42 percent. It’s the largest lead for Ross this cycle and shows a shift in recent polls that had Burr back in the lead.

Ross’s lead is big news for Democrats who have increased emphasis on the Tar Heel State as they seek to regain the Senate majority. President Obama narrowly won the state in 2008, but it flipped back to red in 2012.

Two new Emerson College polls show Democrats leading in states that were carried by Obama in both 2008 and 2012 and typically trend blue in presidential years.

One in Wisconsin shows former Sen. Russ Feingold with a double-digit edge over Sen. Ron Johnson (R), 52 percent to 42 percent. Feingold had a 6-point lead in a Marquette University Law School poll released on Wednesday.

And a poll in Illinois shows Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D) leading Sen. Mark Kirk (R) by 2 points, 41 percent to 39 percent, within the margin of error.

Democrats need to net four seats and retain the White House to retake the Senate majority next year. They defend 10 seats, while Republicans face an uphill battle of defending 24 seats.

The Emerson College Wisconsin poll was conducted from Sept. 19 to 20 and surveyed 700 likely voters. The margin of error was 3.6 percentage points. The same poll in Illinois was conducted from Sept. 19 to 21 and surveyed 700 likely voters. The margin of error was 3.6 percentage points.

The New York Times Upshot/Siena College poll was conducted from Sept. 16 to 19 and surveyed 782 likely voters in North Carolina via cellphone.