5 days until voters must return a ballot, much polling and little consensus on whether incumbent Democrat Patty Murray will keep her US Senate seat, or Dino Rossi will snatch it for Republicans as part of a Red Tide, according to SurveyUSA’s 4th and final pre-election tracking poll for KING-TV in Seattle. Murray 47%, Rossi 47%, at the wire, and offered with circumspection given the disparate findings of 9 different pollsters attempting to characterize the race.

Republican Rossi has a nominal 2-point advantage among voters who tell SurveyUSA they have already returned a ballot. Democrat Murray has a nominal 2-point advantage among voters who tell SurveyUSA they promise to mail back the ballot but have not yet done so. When the 2 groups are combined: tie game. Metro Seattle (which, as always, includes Pierce, Snohomish and King counties) breaks 6:5 Democrat. Eastern WA breaks 4:3 Republican. Western WA breaks 8:7 Republican. Women appear to give Rossi another look at the finish line. Murray’s advantage among female voters had been as high as 17 points, now 6. Lower-income voters are 5:4 for Murray. Middle-income voters split. Upper-income voters are 8:7 for Rossi.