SurveyUSA poll: Coleman with double-digit lead; Barkley climbing

After months of showing the U.S. Senate race as a statistical dead heat, the latest SurveyUSA poll finds Norm Coleman with a solid 10-point lead. The incumbent draws support from 43 percent of respondents, with Democrat Al Franken trailing at 33 percent.

Perhaps most notable, however, is the strong showing of Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley. Despite his late entry into the race and raising almost no money, Barkley garners support from 19 percent of those polled. Assessments of the IP candidate’s strength have varied widely in recent weeks. A pair of polls last month showed him in double digits, but a recent Rasmussen Reports survey gauged his support at just three percent.

SurveyUSA’s latest look at the presidential race in Minnesota, meanwhile, determines that it’s a dead heat, with John McCain topping Barack Obama by a statistically insignificant 47-46 margin. The poll contradicts a CNN/Time poll released earlier this week that showed Obama with an 11-point lead.

**UPDATE**
Political Animal reports that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s internal polling shows the Senate race much tighter, with Franken holding a 38-36 lead over Coleman, and Barkley garnering support from 12 percent of those surveyed.