Klein Poll Shows Him Up 8 Points in CD 22 Race; West Has Other Numbers

A day after controversy erupted over a mailer sent by his party, Democratic Rep. Ron Klein released a poll showing him ahead of GOP challenger Allen West by 8 points.

The poll, conducted before the dustup over a campaign flier bearing West's Social Security number, has the Democrat up 48-40, and shows West's negatives on the rise.

It is not surprising that voters are rejecting Allen West considering he has extreme, right-wing positions and follows the Sarah Palin model of divisive politics, Klein campaign spokeswoman Sarah Rothschild said.

West spokesman Josh Grodin said, "Our internal tracking shows we're within the margin of error (4 points)."

As for those negatives, Grodin said the campaign's surveys show West with a 42-23 favorable/unfavorable rating while Klein pulls 41-40.