A Great Falls Tribune-Montana Television Network poll earlier this month showed Burns ahead of Schweitzer 48 percent to 40 percent. Lee got 1 percent in both surveys. But the Lee Newspapers poll showed Keenan apparently leading Rehberg 45 percent to 40 percent. Tikalsky got 1 percent in both polls. In the MSU-Billings poll, Burns won more support than Schweitzer in rural parts of the state.
Gun control is a factor in voters' support.
While 53 percent of Burns' voters oppose trigger locks on guns being sold, 74.3 percent of Schweitzer backers like the idea. In the House race, the poll found almost 60 percent of Rehberg supporters said they oppose abortion and 51.6 percent of Keenan backers call themselves pro-choice on the issue. The question of trigger locks also separated those supporting the House candidates. About 73 percent of Keenan voters favor such devices and 52.2 percent of Rehberg partisans are opposed. Rehberg was considered to be waging the most negative campaign by 25 percent of those questioned, while 14.6 percent said Keenan was doing so.