Missouri governor race tied; Senate race also a toss-up in latest state poll

Senator Roy Blunt leads opponent Jason Kander by a single point in the latest poll, released Tuesday by the Monmouth University Poll, in the Missouri U.S. Senate race.

The governor’s race is even closer, Monmouth said: Eric Greitens, the Republican, and Chris Koster, the Democrat are tied at 46 percent each.

The poll gives Blunt 47 percent of likely voters, with Kander at 46 percent. Both results are well within the margin of error, making both races toss-ups.

Donald Trump leads Hillary Clinton in Missouri by 14 points, 52 percent to 38 percent. That overwhelming lead is helping Blunt, the polling organization said.

“The simple fact that the number of Trump voters has grown is helping Blunt to the tune of a percentage point or two,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.

The poll was conducted after FBI director James Comey said authorities were examining additional emails that may or may not be linked to Clinton. But only 4 percent of Missouri’s voters said the news changed their minds about whom to support.

Interestingly, the pollsters found Blunt keeping just 79 percent of Trump voters, explaining why the Senate candidate trails Trump in the State. By contrast, 90 percent of Clinton voters back Kander, and he outperforms her by eight points.

From the news release: “The Monmouth University Poll was conducted by telephone from October 28 to 31, 2016 with 405 Missouri residents likely to vote in the November election. This sample has a margin of error of + 4.9 percent.”

This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Missouri governor race tied; Senate race also a toss-up in latest state poll."