http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?display=rednews/2006/01/11/build/state/40-burns-popularity.inc<snip>
HELENA -- Republican Sen. Conrad Burns' bid for re-election may rapidly be turning into an uphill battle following more than a month of unflattering publicity for ties to lobbyist Jack Abramoff and polls showing opponents are catching up to him, observers say.
One poll released Wednesday showed Burns in a statistical dead heat with two Democratic challengers, and separate polls in recent months have shown his approval ratings creeping downward.
"Anytime you see a double digit lead collapse to a tie, that is a significant trend," Scott Rasmussen, president of independent polling firm Rasmussen Reports, said Wednesday.
Burns toured the state last week to meet with newspaper editorials boards and others to combat some of the recent allegations. He said in one interview that he has done nothing wrong, has a "clear conscience" and blamed the trouble on political opponents.
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