A new internal poll from Doug Owens’ campaign obtained by UtahPolicy.com shows the Democrat within striking distance of Republican Mia Love in Utah’s 4th Congressional District.
The poll from FM3 of 400 voters in the 4th District shows love with 50% support while Owens has 41%.
However the survey shows Owens still has some work to do if he is going to overtake Love before November. Love has a 10% net-positive favorability rating (52% favorable/42% unfavorable) while Owens’ net favorability rating is a positive 16%. 74% of voters said they didn’t know Owens or had no impression of him.
When pollsters gave voters some background information on the two candidates, Love’s support dropped by 9 points, while Owens gained 7 percent.
From the pollster’s memo (which you can see below):
“The survey results show Democrat Doug Owens with an impressive early base of support, and strong potential to overtake Mia Love’s narrow lead. While Love is far better-known than Owens at the outset, she also begins with a sizable proportion of voters who hold a deeply unfavorable opinion of her…On the whole, the survey results show deep vulnerabilities for Mia Love and an excellent chance for Doug Owens to capture this open Congressional seat in November. Love is well-known and highly unpopular with many segments of the electorate, while Owens has a compelling background and agenda that allow him to overcome Love’s narrow initial lead.”
This poll should help Owens attract more cash to his campaign. As of the latest FEC filing date, Love had more than four times the amount of money on hand than Owens.
