Dan Coats Widens Lead In Rasmussen Poll

Rasmussen Election 2010

Indiana Senate:

Coats 54%, Ellsworth 33%

Following his vote for the national health care plan, Democratic Congressman Brad Ellsworth's support remains stuck in the low 30s, while two of his Republican opponents now earn 50% or more of the vote in Indiana’s U.S. Senate race.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in Indiana finds that 65% favor repeal of the recently passed health care law. Just 29% in the state oppose repeal. Those findings include 56% who strongly favor repeal versus 21% who strongly oppose it.

Support for repeal is even stronger in Indiana than the national average.

As for the candidates, the latest poll finds former Senator Dan Coats with 54% support, up five points from last month. In that match-up, 33% of voters prefer Ellsworth. Five percent (5%) like another candidate, and nine percent (9%) are undecided.

If Hostettler, a former congressman, is the Republican candidate, he picks up 50% of voters. Against Hostettler, Ellsworth earns 33% of the vote. Five percent (5%) prefer someone else in the race, and 12% are undecided.

The third GOP hopeful, State Senator Marlin Stutzman, gets 41% support again this month, and Ellsworth earns 36% of the vote. Seven percent (7%) favor another candidate. Sixteen percent (16%) are undecided.

This is the first time that Coats has outperformed Hostettler. Coats previously represented Indiana in the U.S. Senate before retiring from office. His return was initially with skepticism by some Hoosiers. Indiana Republicans will pick their nominee in a May 4 primary.

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Coats earns 78% of the votes of those who strongly favor repeal, while Ellsworth gets 79% of the votes of those who are strongly opposed. The spread is similar if Hostettler is the Republican in the race. In a Stutzman/Ellsworth match-up, the Republican gets 62% of those who strongly favor repeal, while the Democrats’ support among those who are strongly opposed rises to 82%.

In three surveys to date, Ellsworth’s overall voter support has held to the range of 27% to 36%. Stutzman has earned roughly 40% support in those surveys, while Coats and Hostettler have both risen from 46% support in February.

Voters in the state not affiliated with either major party prefer Coats and Hostettler to Ellsworth, but the Democrat edges Stutzman among these voters.

Fourteen percent (14%) of all Indiana voters have a very favorable opinion of Ellsworth, while 16% view him very unfavorably.

Coats is viewed very favorably by 17% and very unfavorably by eight percent (8%).

For Hostettler, very favorables are 14% and very unfavorables nine percent (9%).

Stutzman has very favorables of six percent (6%) and very unfavorables of seven percent (7%).

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.