Rasmussen Reports Poll: Vander Plaats Leads Culver

DES MOINES – Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats has opened a lead on Gov. Chet Culver in a head-to-head match up of likely general election voters, according to a poll released today by the respected Rasmussen Reports.

“This poll reflects Iowans’ strong belief that Chet Culver is simply in over his head and has poor leadership instincts,” Vander Plaats said. “He’s swimming against the tide. As far as the majority of Iowans are concerned, his last day in office can’t get here soon enough. Iowans are going to sweep him out of office next November and a growing number of Republicans, Democrats and independents are joining our campaign to get the job done.”

Vander Plaats, a Sioux City businessman who was the GOP’s 2006 lieutenant governor nominee, leads the first-term governor 43-to-39 percent, the survey of 500 Iowa voters indicates.

The polling also shows that 50 percent of voters have a somewhat unfavorable or strongly unfavorable opinion of Culver. In fact, 27 percent of voters say they have a strongly unfavorable opinion of Culver’s performance. Meanwhile, 17 percent had a strongly favorable opinion of Culver, 26 percent have a somewhat favorable opinion and seven percent were unsure.

Fourteen percent of the poll respondents had a strongly favorable opinion of Vander Plaats while 31 percent expressed a somewhat favorable opinion, 16 percent had a somewhat unfavorable opinion of Vander Plaats, 14 percent had a strongly unfavorable opinion and 25 percent were unsure.

“In addition to having a better overall favorable rating than Chet Culver, it’s telling that very few voters are unsure how they feel about him. At the same time, a quarter of the people responding to this poll said they need to learn more about our campaign and that represents a big opportunity to increase our lead in this race,” Vander Plaats said.

Widely respected by Republicans and Democrats for its independence and the accuracy of its polls, Rasmussen Reports does not sell its polling services to any candidates or corporations.

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