GOP poll shows Democrats enjoy wide lead

Tyler Kingkade

The American Future Fund released a poll last week showing Democrats to have a lead both in a generic ballot and by name in Iowa’s First, Second and Third District.

The poll was conducted by Voter/Consumer Research from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3. Past polling by the AFF in August found Republicans ahead, so it’s a wide marginal swing.

Incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Bruce Baley of the First District leads Republican challenger Ben Lange, 50-39. Rep. Dave Loebsack, Democrat in the Second District, leads his GOP opponent, Mariennette Miller-Meeks, 47-39.

Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) now leads Republican state Sen. Brad Zaun, 48-39. All races showed roughly 10 percent of respondents to say they “don’t know,” but each district showed more participants identified their selves as a Democrat than anything else. On the generic ballot, the results were mixed but close.

In the previous AFF released poll, Boswell was behind Zaun, 45-38.

Republicans Jeb Bush and Norm Coleman, among several Bush administration officials, serve as the heads of AFF.

A news release sent out by the AFF chose not to highlight Republicans lagging the polls, instead it focused on the disapproval of a proposed building of an Islamic community center in lower Manhattan.