Braley Leads for U.S. Senate in Iowa

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Iowa finds Rep. Bruce Braley (D) leading potential GOP challengers in a U.S. Senate race by margins ranging from 9 to 13 points.

Braley tops Matt Whitaker (R), 43% to 34%, beats Joni Ernst (R), 45% to 33%, leads Mark Jacobs, 44% to 32% and beats Sam Clovis (R), 43% to 31%.

Key findings: “Part of the reason for Braley’s early leads is that he’s a solid candidate. He has a +10 net favorability rating with 34% of voters rating him positively to 24% with a negative opinion. It also has a lot to do with the Republican candidates being so unknown at this point though. Whitaker is the best known but still has only 23% name recognition and from there it’s 20% for Ernst, 19% for Clovis, 18% for Young, and 16% for Jacobs.”