GOP poll shows Oberstar-Cravaack in a close race, Oberstar calls it a push poll
Tuesday, October 05, 2010 at 8:05 am
- 11 Comments
Republican candidate Chip Cravaack held a conference call with Republican bloggers on Monday to release a poll that shows him closing in on Rep. James Oberstar. The poll says Oberstar got the support of 45 percent of voters while Cravaack garnered 42 percent. Oberstar’s campaign says the poll, which was done by Republican polling outfit Public Opinion Strategies, was a push poll.
“It’s unfortunate and a little surprising,” said Blake Chaffee, Oberstar’s spokesman. “It’s the first time we’ve seen something like this. We got calls from people who received the poll and they noted the leading nature of the poll and that the caller was trying to shape their opinions by making outright falsehoods.”
According to a press release posted on the Republican blog Look True North, the pollsters told voters that “Oberstar is 76 years old and has worked in Congress for nearly 50 years as a Representative and a staffer.”
The poll also discussed government regulation and cap and trade.
“My opponent has had difficulty getting his facts straight over the past few months, but I was just chalking it up to his lack of experience,” said Oberstar. “Unfortunately, this poll makes it look like he is intentionally trying to mislead people.”
The campaign sent along information about Cravaack’s website which says that under health care reform, the federal government will subsidize abortions, but the Oberstar — who is opposed to abortion — said that Obama’s executive order prevents that from happening. The campaign also accused Cravaack of lying about Oberstar’s transportation bill by saying it will add to the national debt. Oberstar counters that the bill is paid for through the highway trust fund.
Chaffee told the Minnesota Independent on Monday afternoon that if Public Opinion Strategies stands by their polling, they will release the findings. “We challenge them to release it all with the full questions and the crosstabs.”
Public Opinion Strategies has been accused of push polling numerous times dating back to 1996. During 2006, when Democrats won a large number of seats in the U.S. House, the polling firm released a statement with the title, “Public Opinion Strategies Mourns Republican Losses, Congratulates Many Individual Winners in Tough Races.”
But Neil Newhouse, the partner in Public Opinion Strategies who conducted the poll, takes issue with the characterization of his polls as “push polls.” He called it a “ludicrous charge.”
Newhouse pointed to an article he penned in Politico on push polling in 2007.
He explained that the poll asked a series of questions before asking whether a voter would select Oberstar or Cravaack. One such question was whether the voter was interested in voting for a “check and balance” on Congressional Democrats or more of the same. It also asked if Oberstar “deserved to be reelected.”
He said that issue-specific questions came after the poll asked voter to select between Oberstar and Cravaack.
Oberstar, who has held the seat since 1974, has won reelection each term with 60 percent of the vote or more since 1992.
Follow Andy Birkey on Twitter11 Comments
Comment posted October 5, 2010 @ 4:34 pm
Time for conservatives to stop letting themselves be manipulated by biased information.
Comment posted October 6, 2010 @ 6:17 pm
I didn’t see anything reported here that was a falsehood. Oberstar turned 76 in September. He has been in Washington for nearly 50 years, 47 to be exact. Chip Cravaack has been getting his facts straight all along. Abortion will take place under Obamacare, Obama’s executive order means nothing and can be rescinded without a vote. Sebelius can dictate more funding tp pro-abortion groups under this law…it is Oberstar who is being disingenous. And oh yes, Oberstar conveniently leaves out the fact that the highway trust fund continues to lose money and has historically been allocated dollars from the general fund to keep it solvent. And remember, the fund is paid for with taxes from gasoline purchases.
Comment posted October 13, 2010 @ 7:07 pm
What in the blazes are the people of Northern Minnesota thinking…how can they possibly support a blatant partisan and union hack like Oberstar…after 18 terms…My God…Oberstar exemplifies EXACTLY what is wrong with Congress…Cravaack is fresh, motivated, and ready to work for the PEOPLE…NOT unions!!
Wake up Minnesota…if you reelect a Jim Oberstar…you WILL find yourself trodding down the same road we Californians have..into the economic and political abyss…save yourselves…
Vote Cravaack!!
Comment posted October 14, 2010 @ 3:48 pm
Wow, Newhouse’s explanation of how the poll was done makes it sound even more questionable than the article.
Comment posted October 15, 2010 @ 12:42 am
I sent Oberstar an email when he voted for government control of medicine in America. I told him his vote makes him the most hated person in the 8th Congressional District of Minnesota. WE HAVE TO FIRE HIM!
Comment posted October 20, 2010 @ 5:06 pm
Under Oberstar if you don’t have the ability to work on roads and bridges there are no jobs. The man has had his time, a lot of time. Move aside. Oberstar is crabby, cantankerous, and most of all believes he is above approach because he thinks he is entitled to this position. Vote him out.
Comment posted October 20, 2010 @ 6:36 pm
Out with Oberstar for gosh sake! Watching him nearly stroke out and telling people they were “flat earthers” during the embarrassing (for him) debate should have been enough for even diehard Diamond Jim supporters. Would someone please give me the name of his investment advisor? I want to know how he is worth over 6 million.
Comment posted October 29, 2010 @ 5:00 pm
Oberstar has done nothing but good for the Range. He is a Union supporter, his father was one of the first people to sign up for the Union when the steelworkers began organizing. We love him here. Cravaack’s own Union endorsed Oberstar!! That means the people who work with Chip everyday, like Jim more!! The Unions are the majority of the work force on the Range, and we want a congressman that believes in the Unions and what they have done for the middle class. He is a good man and listens to his people. He has an amazing memory and even better stories. He has done nothing but good for us on the Range. Chip will have a basement office and do nothing for us when it comes to funding. We have a Governor like that right now!
When the airlines were going to file bankruptcy, Oberstar made sure the workers didn’t lose their pensions. Chip was one of those workers. Your welcome.
By the way, don’t ever compare us to California. We may have elected a wrestler as
Governor, but at least we didn’t elect an actor as president.
Oberstar will be re-elected, I promise you that.
By the way,
Comment posted October 29, 2010 @ 5:42 pm
Oberstar is entirely willing to lie to suit his own agenda. His latest TV ad, which he “approves” at the beginning, takes 8 seconds out of a 15 minute YouTube interview, mostly the words “like Malaysia”, then proceeds to proclaim a lot of things that Cravaack not only didn’t say, but are completely at odds with the content of the original interview. Oberstar complains about a lack of “civility”, but he seems to be quite comfortable with telling outright lies.
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
