Poll: GOP rep up big in swing district

Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) has a solid lead over his opponent, according to a new poll.

{mosads}Valadao, once viewed as a top Democratic target, leads former Senate chief of staff Amanda Renteria (D) by 56 percent to 37 percent in a new poll conducted by SurveyUSA for a local TV station.

Democrats had been high on Renteria’s chances early in the cycle, but Valadao has worked hard to entrench himself in the Democratic-leaning Central Valley district, embracing immigration reform and running hard on local water issues.

House polls are often inaccurate, but national Democrats privately admit Renteria is a long shot at this point, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recently pushed back a planned September reservation they’d made in her district, a sign they may be giving up on her campaign.

The automated poll of 500 likely voters, with a live-caller subsample to reach cell phone users, was conducted from Sept. 3-8 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 percentage points.

This post was updated at 4:40 p.m.