This election year, Lindsey Graham has the weakest foothold of all Republican incumbents in the U.S. Senate, according to results of a poll released on Sept. 7. The 2014 ?Battleground Tracker,? conducted by YouGov.com on behalf of the New York Times and CBS News, finds the South Carolina senator to have confirmed support from only 37 percent of voters in the state. Another five percent say they are currently leaning toward the incumbent, but can’t confirm their votes for Graham.
His 37-percent take is not only lowest of all 13 Republican senators up for re-election this year, who average 53.5 percent in support; it also marks a recent drop for Graham, as well. A July study found 45 percent of likely voters to support the incumbent. Those former supporters apparently changed status to undecided, a number that’s grown from eight percent in July’s poll to 19 for September.
?It clearly shows that Graham is very weak,? said Lachlan McIntosh, campaign manager for state Sen. Brad Hutto, who is Graham’s Democratic opponent in 2014. ?Hutto can win with the normal Democratic coalition in South Carolina.?
Hutto, who’s represented the Orangeburg region in state senate since 1996, currently has support from 28 percent of likely voters, with another one percent leaning his way. He leads Graham most in voters under the age of 45, however, which is the same age group with the highest portion of undecided respondents (31 percent). The incumbent senator only has majority support from voters who self-identify as conservatives and who are of ages 65 and older.
Even those conservative voters could shy away from Graham before November’s election, though. The senator has been censured by nine county Republican parties in the state, and for general reasons that they don’t find Graham to be conservative enough to meet their desires.
Independent candidate Thomas Ravenel, who held the state treasurer’s office for less than six months before being indicted on drug charges, is slipping, too. The reality-TV show star dropped from 10 percent in July to eight percent in the current poll. Libertarian candidate Victor Kocher wasn’t featured in the recent survey, but could be the two percent ?other? responses noted by YouGov.
Offer your opinion?on the?Liberal AmericaFacebook page. Sign up for our?free daily newsletter?to receive more great stories like this one.
