Closing In OK?

A new DSCC poll out today shows Oklahoma State Senator Andrew Rice down only 9 points, 50-41, to global warming denialist James Inhofe, after being down 22 points in the same poll just two months ago. Inhofe is right at that magic 50% barrier and still maintains a higher name ID than Rice, so this is only on the cusp of the danger zone for Republicans. But if Jim Inhofe can't cruise to victory, then suddenly a lot of Senate seats are going to be close, and the NRSC just doesn't have the money to defend them all. Right now the conventional wisdom is that the Democrats will pick up 5 seats - I wouldn't be at all surprised to see that number stretch to 8 or 9. I think Minnesota (where Al Franken is closing the gap) and Oregon are better targets than Oklahoma, but I've had the pleasure of meeting Andrew Rice and he's an impressive young man and a fine candidate. This ad, which may have contributed to the moving numbers, is top-notch:



Nothing would be better to beat a nutjob denialist like James Inhofe.

UPDATE: Another pretty amazing result - Jim Martin is within 6 points of Saxby Chambliss in GEORGIA. And the difference here is that this is a state where Barack Obama is competing strongly.