McConnell tied in independent poll

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is locked in a virtual dead heat with Democratic challenger Bruce Lunsford, according to a new poll.

McConnell drew 45 percent to Lunsford’s 44 percent in a Louisville Courier-Journal poll released this past weekend. The poll, conducted Sept. 22-25, has a 3.7 percent margin of error.

Lunsford trailed McConnell by three in a SurveyUSA poll released last week, with the influential Kentucky Republican garnering 49 percent of the vote. A McConnell poll earlier this month showed him up 52-35.

Democrats have sought to knock off the Republican leader this fall, mirroring when John Thune (R) defeated Democratic Senate Leader Tom Daschle in South Dakota’s 2004 Senate race.