Two polls, two different results in the 8th District

An independent poll gave Rick Nolan a 4 percent lead; an internal Cravaack poll gave the Republican a 10 percent lead.

Oct. 29, 2012

There are two new 8^th District polls this morning, and they paint vastly different pictures of the race.

A Public Policy Polling survey of 1,020 voters conducted for Huffington Post gave Nolan a 4 point lead over incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack. The poll, from a Democratic automated polling firm, has a 3.1 percent margin of error. Its partisan breakdown: 38 percent Democratic, 29 percent Republican, 33 percent independent.

On Monday, the Cravaack campaign released an internal poll showing Cravaack with a 10 point lead over Nolan, 50 percent to 40 percent. The poll surveyed 400 likely voters, carries a 4.9 percent margin of error, and includes 33 percent Democrats, 31 percent Republicans and 34 percent independents.

The 8^th District race is by far the most expensive in Minnesota, and considered to be the tightest as well.

Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: @dhenry