This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Dueling polls in Utah's 4th Congressional District have one thing in common - Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson is ahead of GOP challenger Mia Love.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a summary of its poll Tuesday, which has Matheson up 54 percent to Love's 40 percent. The Dems describes that as a "solid lead" in the expected 2014 showdown.
Their automated poll, conducted by IVR Polling, reached 420 Utah voters between June 6 and June 8 and has a margin of error of 4.7 percentage points.
This Democratic survey comes three weeks after their Republican counterparts released a poll showing Matheson up by just three percentage points - 44 percent to 41 percent. That poll tried to tie Matheson to President Barack Obama, who is unpopular in Utah, and the National Republican Congressional Committee said the numbers showed soft and dwindling support for the seven-term congressman.
Readers would be wise to take any poll released by a political party with a grain of salt, especially one that's 18 months from Election Day. Still the numbers are interesting for political observers looking forward to the 2014 rematch.
Matheson defeated Love, the mayor of Saratoga Springs, by less than 800 votes last November and no Democrat in Congress represents a more conservative district.
— Matt Canham
Twitter.com/mattcanham