Rand Paul Pulling Far Ahead of Jack Conway in Kentucky Senate Race

Republican nominee and Tea Party favorite Rand Paul has opened up a 15 point lead over Democrat Jack Conway in Kentucky's Senate race, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted Aug. 30-Sept. 1 for the Louisville Journal-Courier and WHAS11.

Paul leads Conway, the state's attorney general, by 55 percent to 40 percent with 5 percent undecided.

Paul is getting far more support from fellow Republicans than Conway is from Democrats and, in a state where some political writers have said many Democrats resemble Republicans, Paul is also attracting a healthy share of voters from that party.

While 82 percent of Republicans support Paul, only 64 percent of Democrats are backing Conway. Paul is taking almost a third of the Democratic vote.

Paul leads by 56 percent to 34 percent among independents (10 percent of the sample) with 10 percent undecided.

Paul predictably pulls in 80 percent of the votes of self-described conservatives (46 percent of the sample) while Conway leads by a 58 percent to 38 percent margin among moderates (36 percent of the sample).

Paul holds better than a 2-to-1 lead among male voters while the two candidates divide the women's vote.

Democratic campaign consultant Danny Briscoe told the Courier-Journal that the numbers were "awful" for Conway and that, "I just think it's a Republican year in Kentucky."

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