The statewide Herald-Leader/Action News 36 poll, which was conducted last week and included 600 likely voters, found that 55 percent of those polled disapprove of McConnell's position on Iraq while 38 percent approve and 7 percent are undecided.

Similarly, 57 percent of Kentucky voters polled said the war wasn't worth the loss of life and expense while 32 percent feel the war effort was worth it and 11 percent are unsure.

Voters are split on McConnell's job performance ,with 47 percent approving, 44 percent disapproving and 9 percent unsure.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

In Kentucky, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell has seen his positive ratings reach above 50 percent in two recent polls, dampening the likelihood that he will face any major opposition next year funded by the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. A TargetPoint poll from mid-August, released today, pegs McConnell's job approval rating at 53 percent and his disapproval rating at 30 percent. A recent poll had put his approval rating at 47 percent. A Voter/Consumer Research poll, meanwhile, taken in early August and provided to U.S. News today, put his approval rating at 59 percent, with 35 percent disapproving. McConnell's early high disapproval ratings were linked to his support for the war in Iraq and President Bush; the change is most likely part of the overall shift in the public's mood in the past month, said an adviser.

The Republicans, says Kentucky Political Report editor Lowell Reese, “hope for Reagan Democrats down in Western Kentucky” to be moved into Fletcher’s column. Fletcher’s “stance on casino gambling, packaged with four or five other issues, including the Ten Commandments, abortion, domestic partnership insurance and gun control” will split the Democratic base. Fletcher will need a big margin in rural areas in Western Kentucky this fall to offset Beshear’s strength in Louisville. The GOP is also hoping that the coming campaign can put a negative face on Beshear. “Beshear has not been defined…,” notes Reese; “In the [Democratic] primary, it was a love fest. The Democrats didn’t bring out any of the negative stuff about each other.”

So far, however, Beshear has been skilful in responding to Fletcher’s attacks. The Courier-Journal reported that when the governor criticized Beshear for a ruling he made as state attorney general that schools must not display the Ten Commandments, Beshear told the Fancy Farm audience that displaying the commandments wasn’t as important as living by them, adding “If this administration had been living by them, they wouldn’t be in the mess they’re in now.” Beshear, notes Reese, “gave the best speech” at Fancy Farm.

Approve: 40
Disapprove: 57

Two days after a prominent Kentucky Democrat announced a potential challenge to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, new polling is encouraging McConnell detractors.

The polls show that McConnell, the Senate GOP leader, is out of touch with the nation by continuing to support President Bush and the war in Iraq, his opponents say.

A SurveyUSA poll shows that McConnell's approval rating is at 48 percent while 44 percent of voters disapprove. The poll of 600 Kentucky adults has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percent. It was conducted July 17.

"At a time when Kentuckians are crying out for change, Mitch McConnell is leading one of the most obstructionist parties in the history of the Senate," Matthew Miller, spokesman for Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in a statement. "This poll shows that as long as Mitch McConnell is carrying out George Bush's agenda and blocking important legislation supported by his constituents, he will find his standing at home in jeopardy."