Undecided voters to decide 1st. dist. race

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) - Does the number 20 mean more than the number 46?

According to a newly published poll 20 percent of the voters are still undecided in the First Congressional race.  Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham leads Republican Janice Arnold-Jones 46 to 34 in a new Albuquerque Journal poll.
     
That's a significant lead, but it shows this race is not yet a done deal.

The poll is the first one published for the race that will represent the Albuquerque area in congress. It also shows that out of those polled one in five don't know who they'll vote for.

"If you're the Republicans, you have to be worried a little bit," said UNM Political Science Professor Gabriel Sanchez. "A 12 point lead for Michelle Lujan Grisham is difficult to overcome."

But that's not how Janice Arnold-Jones sees it.

"We have been polling and the numbers from our opponents remain the same," she said. "There is a whole universe of people who are undecided, and I'm really excited about getting our message out and making sure people know what the difference is."

Michelle Lujan Grisham feels the numbers show she has a solid lead.

"For us it means that our hard work is paying off, that our message is right," she said. "We are fighting to put the middle class back in the economy."

For both candidates the biggest shocker in the poll is the percentage of undecided voters. That is 20 percent, and that could put either choice over the edge.

"That really gives you the opportunity to make up some ground," said Sanchez in reference to the undecided voters. "You're really just starting to campaign."

Sanchez says Janice Arnold-Jones needs to take advantage of the high number of undecided by raising more money. He says right now Michelle Lujan Grisham has raised three times as much money as her opponent.

The poll was taken before the candidate's first debate which was Sunday. It has a plus, minus of 4.8 percent.