Poll: Grassley leads Conlin 54 to 37 percent

Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley continues to earn more than 50 percent support in his bid for reelection in Iowa against Democratic nominee Roxanne Conlin, according to a Rasmussen Reports survey of likely voters.

The telephone survey found Grassley earning 54 percent of the vote, while Conlin, the winner of last week's Senate Democratic primary contest, attracting 37 percent.  Only 2 percent prefer some other candidate, and another 8 percent are undecided.

Although candidates often get a bounce in support after a primary victory, that doesn't seem to be the case for Conlin, according to Rasmussen. Surveys conducted since February show Grassley's support ranging from 53 to 55 percent. Support for Conlin, a former U.S. attorney, has ranged from 37 to 40 percent.  In late April, Grassley led Conlin 53 percent to 40 percent.

Among male voters in Iowa, Grassley leads Conlin by a two-to-one margin, and he has a slight edge among female voters.  Grassley holds a double-digit lead over Conlin among voters not affiliated with either major political party.

Grassley, a member of the Senate for nearly 30 years, is viewed Very Favorably by 28 percent of Iowa voters and Very Unfavorably by 14 percent.

Fifteen percent of those surveyed share a Very Favorable opinion of Conlin, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1982.  Seventeen percent view her Very Unfavorably.

At this point in a campaign, Rasmussen Reports considers the number of people with a strong opinion more significant than the total favorable/unfavorable numbers.

The survey of 500 Likely Voters in Iowa was conducted on June 14, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95 percent level of confidence.