Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah) holds a 13-point lead over Democratic challenger Doug Owens in the race for her House seat, a new poll released Wednesday finds.
{mosads}The UtahPolicy.com poll conducted by Dan Jones & Associates found Love leading the Democratic attorney, 51 percent to 38 percent. Constitution Party candidate Collin Simonsen got 4 percent, while 7 percent remain undecided.
The Wednesday poll is similar to a July internal poll from Love’s campaign that found her up 15 points. They both stand in contrast to a June survey released by Salt Lake Tribune/Hinckley Institute that found her trailing Owens by 6 points.
Love is leading 46 percent to 40 percent among independent voters, a crucial voting bloc for Owens if he hopes to unseat the Republican lawmaker.
“It is very difficult for a Democrat to win in the fourth congressional district without strong support from independent voters,” said pollster Dan Jones. “Mia Love currently leads among that voting bloc, so Doug Owens needs to convince the independent voters to support him if he wants to close the gap.”
Love, a rising star in the Republican Party and the first black female Republican in Congress, narrowly defeated Owens in 2014 51 percent to 46 percent in an election year that saw big GOP gains.
Democrats have been targeting Love’s seat, which has been rated a toss-up by nonpartisan handicappers. She’s also running in a state where her party’s presidential nominee, Donald Trump, is highly unpopular. A poll earlier this month showed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in a virtual tie with Trump in red-state Utah.
Earlier this year, Owens was added to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” program, which targets specific House districts it thinks the party can flip.