Poll: Young leads Stutzman in GOP Senate contest

Todd Young appears to be leading over Marlin Stutzman in the GOP primary race for outgoing Republican Dan Coats’ seat in the U.S. Senate.

Young has amassed a 12 percentage point lead in the race against his fellow U.S. congressman, according to a new poll conducted by WTHR/Howey Politics Indiana. 

Young had 43 percent of the respondents’ support while 31 percent backed Stutzman. The remaining 26 percent of voters were undecided, according a post on HoweyPolitics.com. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.47 percentage points.

"Todd Young’s seismic money advantage with his campaign and super PAC allies appears to be pushing the Republican U.S. Senate race out of reach of Marlin Stutzman,” political analyst Brian Howey wrote in the post.

However, Stutzman is hoping that those undecided voters will benefit him in an election year that is expected to bring out a big turnout. 

He previously told IBJ that Donald Trump’s popularity benefits him.

But Howey noted that that strategy hasn’t had much success. The poll found that among “very conservative” voters, which makes up 45 percent of Republican likely voters, Young has a 43-37 lead over Stutzman.

According to WTHR, the only demographic breakdown in which Stutzman is leading Young is among men who are 18-54 years old. He leads that group 40 percent to 36 percent. 

"Stutzman’s hopes of capitalizing on the Trump populist appeal appears to be following the trend of other states like Alabama, where Trump easily won the primary but had no coattails down ballot,” Howey wrote.