Race tightens as Yoder faces scrutiny from close association with shady payday lenders
“Congressman Yoder’s campaign has hit peak desperation as he sees his political career slipping away,” said DCCC Spokesman Tyler Law. “The truth is that Yoder can’t defend his record of slashing education funding in Topeka and Washington, can’t defend his ideologically extreme votes in Congress, and he has been unwilling to tell the truth about his alleged pay-to-play relationship with shady lenders.”
Check out the coverage of the poll here:
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LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD: Democrats tout poll showing Clinton up in 3rd District; Signs Yoder may be vulnerable
EXCERPT: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released polling results Tuesday showing Democrat Hillary Clinton leading Republican Donald Trump by double digits in the 3rd Congressional District of Kansas, and that Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder is locked in a surprisingly close race with Democrat Jay Sidie.
The poll was conducted Oct. 5-8, so most of the responses were recorded before release of a recording of Trump making lewd comments about women during a 2005 interview. The telephone survey of 456 likely voters was conducted for the DCCC and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.6 percentage points.
It showed Clinton leading Trump, 52-42 percent, and Yoder leading by only 5 percentage points, 50-45 percent, over Sidie.
It also showed that Gov. Sam Brownback’s low approval rating may be dragging down GOP candidates further down the ballot. Within the 3rd District, which includes Johnson, Wyandotte and a small portion of Miami counties, the poll showed Brownback with only a 19 percent approval rating in the district.
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ROLL CALL: Democratic Poll: Kevin Yoder’s Lead Is Within Margin of Error
EXCERPT: Democratic recruit Jay Sidie trails three-term Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder by 4 points in a Democratic poll of Kansas’ 3rd District.
Yoder led with 44 percent to Sidie’s 40 percent. Libertarian candidate Steve Hohe took 9 percent.
Hillary Clinton led Donald Trump 52 to 42 percent, with most of the interviews conducted before revelations of a 2005 video in which Donald Trump bragged about sexually assaulting women.
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Democrats’ strategy for maximizing gains in the House is to target red districts like this one that are suburban and well-educated. Mitt Romney carried this district by 10 points in 2012, and Yoder won his last re-election by 20 points. But John McCain carried the district by just 1 point in 2008.
Sidie has been tying Yoder to the unpopular education cuts supported by Gov. Sam Brownback.
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KANSAS CITY STAR: Sidie pulls closer to Yoder, according to poll from Dems
EXCERPT: Democrat Jay Sidie is gaining ground in the race against Rep. Kevin Yoder for a Kansas congressional seat, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
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The race between Sidie and Yoder seems to have grown more competitive in recent weeks. Yoder’s support for Trump has been criticized by Sidie’s campaign, especially in light of a 2005 tape that showed Trump making comments about women that describe sexual assault.
The Democrat’s campaign also has linked the incumbent congressman to the payday loan industry, including to James Carnes, a Mission Hills businessman, who donated $5,000 to Yoder during his time in Washington. According to earlier Star reporting, Carnes may have to pay over $40 million “in restitution and a civil penalty” concerning a payday loan operation.
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POLITICO PRO: New poll highlights Yoder, KS-03 as Democratic targets Scott Bland
EXCERPT: A new internal poll conducted for the DCCC independent expenditure unit shows GOP Rep. Kevin Yoder narrowly leading Democrat Jay Sidie, 44 percent to 40 percent, in the Kansas City suburbs.
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The release from the DCCC IE suggests Democrats could start spending in Kansas soon. Garin-Hart-Yang’s memo casts the district as “emerging as a strong pick-up opportunity for Democrats … despite [Sidie] being significantly outspent.” The survey also notes that GOP Gov. Sam Brownback, to whom Sidie’s TV ads have been tying Yoder, has a 66 percent unfavorable rating (versus 19 percent favorable). Yoder’s ratings were 35 percent favorable to 34 percent unfavorable. The memo said that just 3 in 10 voters know who Sidie is, without giving exact numbers.
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