Cleveland Plain Dealer...
When poll numbers look good for Josh Mandel, Sherrod Brown uses them in fundraising pitch 
March 31,2012 

WASHINGTON -- It is an article of faith that Democrats dislike Rasmussen Reports polls. Some have qualms about Rasmussen’s use of automation rather than live humans to ask the questions. 

Some don’t like the fact that Scott Rasmussen also polls for Republican clients and has addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference. Rasmussen Reports defends its accuracy, while New York Times polling/political-calculus blogger Nate Silver has taken it to task. 

So what did Sherrod Brown’s campaign do Wednesday when a Rasmussen poll showed the Ohio Democrat tied with his Republican challenger, Josh Mandel, for the fall U.S. Senate race? 

First, it criticized the poll, with spokesman Justin Barasky saying “this is a Republican poll by a notoriously unreliable Republican pollster and should not be taken seriously.” 

But then it used the poll’s conclusion -- that Brown and Mandel were even -- to raise money. 

Brown campaign manager Sarah Benzing sent out a morning email with the heading “BREAKING: New Polling.” 

She wrote: 

“Friend -- did you see the poll released yesterday? 

“Rasmussen’s latest survey of Ohio has Sherrod in a dead heat with right-wing Republican Josh Mandel, 43%-43%. 

“It’s just one poll -- but it’s a clear indicator that the nearly $5 million they’ve spent attacking Sherrod is having an effect. 

“We have to fight back. I need your help right now.” 

She went on to ask supporters to donate to Brown’s “No Fear Fund” to “help us build a campaign strong enough to fight back against the negative ads that have flooded Ohio.” 

Benzing sent another email to Brown supporters last night, with the same subject line but a new message: 

“If you had any doubts that Ohio was going to be one of the closest races this year, just look at the email below -- a new poll has Sherrod tied with our opponent, Josh Mandel, 43% to 43%. 

“This is just one of many polls that we’ll see before November, but it underscores the need for us to fight back against special interest smear campaigns and get our message out there. 

“Contribute today, and help us fight back by reaching our $500,000 goal before Saturday.” 

If Brown was lucky, the poll inspired rapid check-writing, because the window for taking advantage of Rasmussen’s results closed quickly. A day later, a new poll from Quinnipiac University shows Brown with a 10-point lead against Mandel. 

While that suggests a tightening of the race, as both campaigns acknowledge, Brown’s campaign could take some comfort in the new poll’s cross-tabs showing the incumbent leads his challenger, who is currently Ohio’s treasurer, by 18 percentage points among independents. That’s a group likely to make a difference in the election. 

But don’t expect Brown’s campaign to say “never mind” about its earlier email. 

So which poll does the Brown campaign really believe? We asked Barasky, who emailed back: 

“Polls will be all over the place from now until election day, and I fully expect the race to be close because of the millions of dollars in D.C. special interest money backing Josh Mandel.” 

Ohio Republicans have a different take. When the Rasmussen numbers came out, Ohio Republican Party spokesman Chris Maloney said, “This survey corresponds to previous Republican, Democrat and independent surveys which illustrate an increasingly competitive race for U.S. Senate in Ohio. The fact that Sherrod Brown can only muster 43 percent of the vote in a state where his name has appeared on ballots for thirty-eight years, proves that he’s clearly out of touch with the interests of Ohio voters.” 

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