Republican Allen West narrowly leads U.S. Rep. Ron Klein in a bruising battle for South Florida's 22nd Congressional District, a new Sunshine State News Poll shows.
West leads Klein 47-44 in the survey of likely voters conducted Oct. 17-19. Nine percent of respondents are undecided.
West, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, lost by 10 points to Klein in 2008, a strong year for Democrats. But with Republicans surging this fall, West is picking up more independents, along with solid tea party support.
"West has to be the slight favorite here simply because of the turnout differential," said Jim Lee, president of Voter Survey Service, which conducted the poll for Sunshine State News.
Lee reported that West’s 3-point lead grows to 5 points among respondents who say their chances of voting are "excellent" (49-44) and 4 points among “2x” voters, or those who cast ballots in both the ’08 and ’06 general elections (48-44).
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