WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- A poll released Wednesday by the GOP showed ex-GOP Rep. Tom Coburn narrowly retaking the lead from Democrat Rep. Brad Carson in the Oklahoma Senate race.
Coburn led Carson by less than 2 points, 41 percent to 39.6 percent in a three-way ballot test that included independent senate candidate Sheila Bilyeu, who polled just 2.4 percent. Coburn's lead, inside the 4.4 point margin of error, is statistically insignificant but represents a reversal in a recent trend that saw voters moving to Carson.
A KWTV-Oklahoman poll released Tuesday gave Carson a 5-point lead over Coburn in the race for the U.S. Senate being vacated by Don Nickles, who is retiring. Carson's lead was larger than the margin of error for the first time in any of the KWTV-Oklahoman polls.
The GOP survey also showed that President Bush has maintained a sizeable lead over Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John F. Kerry, 62 percent to 29.2 percent.
Pollster Jon Lerner of Basswood Research, who conducted the poll of 500 Oklahoma voters likely to vote in the November election, said the data showed Coburn had "withstood a massive barrage of negative attacks" over the last two weeks and that the race remains quite competitive.
