Lungren campaign releases surveys showing him leading by 20

U.S. Rep. Dan Lungren's (R-Gold River) congressional re-election campaign released two surveys Monday that showed the incumbent with a sizable lead over Democrat Bill Durston.

One survey, with a sample size of 400 registered voters in the 3rd Congressional District, showed Lungren with a 47.2 percent to 26.5 percent lead over Durston, an emergency room doctor from Gold River. That survey, completed Oct. 7, was done by pollster Val Smith and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.

A second survey, completed on Oct. 9 of 300 registered voters in the district, gave Lungren a 45-25 edge. Moore Information did that survey, with a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percent.

Lungren campaign spokesman Tim Clark said in a press release that those results showed strong support for Lungren despite a steady stream of attacks from Durston's campaign.

"Congressman Lungren is definitely in a very strong position as voters begin to finalize their decisions in this race," Clark said in the release.

In response, Durston campaign spokeswoman Pat McConahay said the campaign doubted those findings and still believed in a poll it released last week that showed the race in a dead heat.

"We stand by our poll," McConahay said in an email to PolitickerCA. "We used one of the top polling firms in the country."

Voter registration numbers in the 3rd district show about a 3.6 percentage point advantage for Republicans. Lungren beat Durston 59-37 in 2006.

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