UD poll finds Coons, Carney with commanding leads

A poll released Wednesday by the university's Center for Political Communication shows that Democrat Chris Coons has a commanding lead against Republican Christine O'Donnell.

Coons holds a 19-point lead over O'Donnell, who sparked national interest in the race by defeating Delaware mainstay Mike Castle in the Republican primary last month.

The poll, which surveyed 901 Delaware residents between Sept. 16 and Sept. 30, found that 49 percent of voters support Coons, while 39 percent support O'Donnell. Thirteen percent are undecided.

Results also indicate that Coons' support is stronger than O'Donnell's. Sixty-three percent of Coons' Democratic supporters say they would be "very disappointed" if he lost the election, only 34 percent of O'Donnell's supporters responded the same way.

In the House of Representatives race, the poll found that Democrat John Carney has a 48 percent to 31 percent lead over Republican Glen Urquhart.

The poll was overseen by David Wilson, a political science professor who used to work for Gallup. It marks the first time the CPC has conducted a public opinion survey.

"Delaware has never had a regular, continuing public opinion poll, and the university is committed to research and engaging students and the public in civic life," CPC director Ralph Begleiter said in a statement. "We want to further understand the opinions of Delawareans, and discover the effects of recent developments in social networking on political messaging at the local and national levels."