Two recent publicly-available opinion polls show Republican Greg Gianforte besting Democrat Rob Quist in the special election to replace Congressman Ryan Zinke.
The latest poll was released this week by the Emerson College Polling Society. That poll shows Mr. Gianforte leading with 52%, Mr. Quist with 37% and longshot, Libertarian candidate Mark Wicks with 5%.
The poll was conducted April 20th and 21st, surveying 648 likely Montana voters and has a margin of error of +/- 3.8%.
A second publicly available opinion poll conducted by Gravis Marketing and released in early April showed Mr. Gianforte with 50% and Mr. Quist with 38%.
Gravis Marketing is a non-partisan research firm based in Florida. The poll surveyed 1,222 Montanans and has margin of error of +/- 2.9%.
With the May 25 special Election rapidly approaching, the competition is heating up. Campaigns for both Mr. Quist and Mr. Gianforte have been running television and radio ads for more than a month.
Several national groups are weighing in as well. The National Rifle Association is running televisions ads critical of Mr. Quist’s comments supporting the registration of guns. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a “super PAC” aligned with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, has focused its attacks on Mr. Quist’s decades-long financial troubles, including highlighting several tax liens filed by the state of Montana and his failure to pay a small business owner who performed work on his house.
So far, no national groups have run ads supporting Mr. Quist.
By: Big Sky Headlines staff