Poll Indicates U.S. House Race Narrows

by KDLT News
October 12, 2012 12:02 PM


A poll conducted last week indicates Rep. Kristi Noem's lead in the race for South Dakota's only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives has narrowed.

Nielson Brothers Polling says Noem now leads Democratic challenger Matt Varilek by 5.7 percent, with 7.1 percent still undecided. In a survey conducted by NBP at the beginning of September, Noem led Varilek by 8.8 percent.

Public Utilities Commission Republican incumbent Chris Nelson leads Democrat Nick Nemic 55.1 percent to 28.7 percent, with 16.2 percent undecided, in the race for a 4-year term on the PUC.

Republican incumbent Kristie Fiegen has garnered 38.6 percent of support in the race for a 6-year term on the PUC. Democrat Matt McGovern carries 36.5 percent and Libertarian Russell Clarke has 8.5 percent of the vote in the same PUC race. NBP says 16.4 percent of those polled are undecided.

In a survey NBP conducted last month, Fiegen led McGovern by 10.5 percent. In that survey, Clarke was not included.

Polling officials say the survey was conducted between Oct. 1 and Oct. 5. and 730 people were questioned. The margin or error ranges from 3.55 to 3.63 for different questions.