Here Are The Results of SurveyUSA Election Poll #18611

Geography Surveyed: Kentucky
Data Collected: 09/22/2011 - 09/27/2011
Release Date: 09/29/2011 7:00 AM ET
Sponsor: The Courier-Journal Bluegrass / WHAS-TV Poll, Louisville, KY

One Month To KY Governor Election, Incumbent Democrat Beshear Overwhelms Republican Challenger: One month until votes are counted in the election for Governor of Kentucky, incumbent Democrat Steve Beshear builds upon his 2:1 advantage over Republican challenger David Williams, according to a SurveyUSA tracking poll conducted for the Courier-Journal newspaper and WHAS-TV in Louisville. 28% of Kentucky Republicans today cross-over to vote Democrat. 24% of Tea Party members cross-over to vote Democrat. Just half of Republican voters back the Republican candidate. When the demographic sub-groups are added up, it's Beshear 57% Williams 26%, a 31-point advantage for the Democrat in a state that in 2010 elected a Tea Party candidate to the U.S. Senate. Independent Gatewood Galbraith gets 8% in an election for Governor today, 10/02/11. Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll 60 days ago, Williams is down 2 points, Beshear is up 5 points. There is movement to the Democrat in Western KY, where Beshear's lead has nearly tripled since July, and among men, where Beshear had led by 18, now leads by 26. Beshear, elected in 2007 with 59% of the vote, is strong in greater Louisville, where he gets 62% of the vote, among moderates, where he gets 70%, among women, where he gets 60%, among seniors, where he gets 64%, and among pro-choice voters, where he gets 74% of the vote. Williams carries conservatives 5:4. * Beshear has a Plus 31 Favorability Rating, up 4 points since July, impressive in a climate where Democrats elsewhere are struggling. * Williams has a Minus 21 Favorability Rating, down 6 points since July.

This survey includes cell phone respondents and landline respondents. SurveyUSA interviewed 900 Kentucky adults 09/22/11 through 09/27/11. Of the adults, 799 were registered to vote. Of the registered voters, 569 were determined by SurveyUSA to be likely to vote in the 11/08/11 Gubernatorial election. This survey was conducted multimode. Of the landline respondents (who are 75% of adults, 79% of likely voters), two-thirds were interviewed in the recorded voice of a professional announcer, one-third were interviewed by call center employees, who asked the questions and remained on the line until the interview was completed. Of the cell phone respondents (who are 25% of adults, 21% of likely voters), all were interviewed by call center employees, who hand-dialed the numbers and who remained on the line until the interview was completed. In this data set, cell-phone respondents and landline respondents vote similarly.