Pryor leads in new Arkansas poll

Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) has a narrow lead over Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), according to a new poll conducted for USA Today by Suffolk University.

{mosads}Pryor leads Cotton 45 percent to 43 percent in the live-caller poll, the first nonpartisan survey conducted this month that has found the senator in the lead.

Both men aren’t well-liked by voters following months of harsh negative campaigning, though. 

Pryor’s unfavorable rating is at 47 percent, with his favorable number at 44 percent. And Cotton is underwater as well, at 43 percent unfavorable and 39 percent favorable in the poll. President Obama remains unpopular in the state, with a 39 percent approval rating and a 57 percent disapproval rating, though that’s not as bad as he’s been in some other Arkansas polls, an indication this sample might be a bit more Democratic than others.

Four other public polls released this month have found Cotton with a slight lead, though a pair of Democratic surveys found Pryor maintaining a narrow lead in the race.

The live-caller poll of 500 likely voters reached on landlines and cellphones was conducted Sept. 20-23 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.