Poll shows Long pulling ahead of Herrera Beutler in 3rd

As the election season enters its final weeks, Democrat Carolyn Long has released a new poll showing her creeping ahead of incumbent Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler in the race for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District.

On Friday, Long’s campaign released the results of a survey conducted by Lake Research Partners showing her with 45 percent of the vote share to Herrera Beutler’s 43 percent, with another 8 percent saying they were undecided. According to a memo from Lake Research Partners, the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent. It was conducted using a live telephone survey Tuesday through Thursday of 400 likely voters.

A poll in June found Long with 37 percent of the vote to Herrera Beutler’s 42 percent. In the August primary, Herrera Beutler finished with 42 percent of the vote to Long’s 35 percent in a field of seven candidates.

The Long campaign hailed the results of the new poll as a sign that she is overtaking Herrera Beutler, a four-term incumbent.

“Clearly voters are tired of the same old partisan talking points from our opponent, who has run exclusively negative ads on TV and repeatedly tried to mislead voters about Carolyn’s positions on the issues,” Long’s campaign manager, Michelle Thimios, said in a prepared statement.

Herrera Beutler’s campaign dismissed the results of the poll. In an email, Angeline Riesterer, spokeswoman for Herrera Beutler’s campaign, said that Southwest Washington won’t support Long based on her position on issues including taxes and health care.

“A poll Carolyn Long paid for says she’s ahead — what a surprise,” she said.

According to a press statement, Long’s increase comes largely from gains with self-identified independent voters, who support her by a 10-point margin in the poll.