New surveys show Merkley and Novick in dead heat

With the May 20 primary just around the corner, a wave of new polls are out in the Democratic race for the U.S. Senate.

A new poll conducted by SurveyUSA shows House Speaker Jeff Merkley and attorney Steve Novick in a dead heat heading into the final week of the campaign.

The poll of 1,700 Oregon adults, 1,554 of which are registered to vote, shows Merkley leading Novick by a statistically insignificant margin of 31 percent to 27 percent.

The poll was conducted May 9 – May 11 and has a margin of error of 4 percent.

Another poll out Tuesday conducted for the Portland Tribune and KPTV News 12 shows Novick with a slight lead over Merkley.

The poll of 400 likely voters conducted between May 8 – May 10 shows Novick at 29 percent and Merkley at 23 percent.

The poll has a margin of error of 4.8 percent.

A Rasmussen survey released over the weekend, meanwhile, tests both Democrats in a general election matchup against Republican incumbent Gordon Smith.

The poll of 500 likely voters conducted on May 7 shows Smith leading Merkley 45 percent to 42 percent. When matched up against Novick, Smith leads by a 47 percent to 41 percent margin.

The poll has a margin of error of 4 percent.