Guthrie camp reiterates doubts over SurveyUSA poll

State Sen. Brett Guthrie: Campaign photoOne day after a new public poll from SurveyUSA showed it's candidate in a neck-and-neck race and two days after it released a memo warning against any public poll results, the campaign of state Senator Brett Guthrie (R-Bowling Green) reiterated today they are not worried at this point in the campaign.

"Any survey taken in June, before either candidate has begun advertising - and shows 9% undecided - has no credibility," said Guthrie's campaign manager, Brian Smith, in an e-mail to PolitickerKY.com.

In the race for the open 2nd Congressional District seat, Guthrie was shown trailing state Senator David Boswell (D-Sorgho) 47 to 44 percent in the SurveyUSA poll of 545 "likely" voters. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percent.

Smith's comments reinforce the Guthrie camp's belief that they have an advertising advantage in the race, based on a $300,000 second quarter fundraising estimate and a total of over $700,000 raised since January.

This advantage was touted by Guthrie's campaign in the memo dispatched on Monday.

"Television advertising in Congressional campaigns traditionally begins after Labor Day, and Brett Guthrie is in a financial position to be on the air long before his opponent," read the memo, penned by campaign pollster Jan van Lohuizen and strategist Scott Jennings.

The memo also argued any public polling conducted at this point in the race would "will not tell you anything about how voters feel about the candidates" and specifically targeted SurveyUSA's methods as "unreliable."

Boswell could arguably have an existing name identification advantage in the 2nd District. He has held office a state Senator for 18 years and also served a four-year term as Kentucky's Commissioner of Agriculture.

In recent weeks, Boswell's campaign has indicated they are "focusing on fundraising" in an effort to replenish campaign coffers depleted after a competitive Democratic primary run against Daviess County Judge/Executive Reid Haire (D-Owensboro.