Journal Poll: Tight Race for Land Commissioner

Today the Albuquerque Journal released the results of its latest poll in the race for New Mexico Land Commissioner between Dem challenger Jim Baca and Repub incumbent Pat Lyons:

Dem Jim Baca: 42%
Repub Pat Lyons: 40%
Undecided: 18%
800 likely voters,
M.O.E. plus or minus 3.5%
Research and Polling Inc.

According to the Journal article:

Baca, the Democratic challenger, had the support of 62 percent of Democrats and 20 percent of Republicans. Lyons, the incumbent, had the support of 69 percent of his fellow party members and 14 percent of Democrats.

... "It looks like it's just a dead tie and there hasn't been much movement," said F. Chris Garcia, political science professor emeritus at the University of New Mexico.

"This is an opportunity for either one of them to break out of that deadlock with some good campaigns with two-and-a-half weeks to go," Garcia said, citing the relatively large number of undecided voters.

There's a post up on NM State Senator Dede Feldman's blog by Suzanne Prescott that provides a clear picture of what's at stake in this race.

With only 15 days until election day and so many undecided voters, advertising may make a big difference in this race. As I've said before, Lyons has a significant cash advantage, having been the recipient of big cash donations almost exclusively from oil and gas interests. Baca has just gone on the air with his first ad, and the campaign needs all the help we can give to keep the ad running in these critical final campaign days. See the ad. Click to donate to the Baca campaign.