Poll: Nebraska Democratic Sen. Nelson in Trouble

Many Democratic senators up for re-election in 2012 face an uphill battle, and Nebraska’s Ben Nelson is one of them. A new survey from Republican polling firm Magellan Data and Mapping Strategies shows announced GOP candidate Jon Bruning, currently Nebraska’s attorney general, leading Nelson, 52 percent to 38 percent, Roll Call reports.

And GOP Treasurer-elect Don Stenberg leads Nelson by 6 points. Stenberg lost to Nelson by 2 points in their 2000 Senate race, and he announced days after being elected treasurer last month that he was considering another run at Nelson. At least 80 percent of respondents have heard of both potential opponents, erasing any name identification advantage for the two-term senator. Nelson’s highly publicized support for Obamacare may be the biggest albatross for his campaign.