Rassmussen Reports

U.S. Senate candidate Tom Allen: Campaign PhotoUPDATED

At this point last year, the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Susan Collins (R-Bangor) and challenger U.S. Rep. Tom Allen (D-Portland) was predicted to be a race to watch, with pundits deeming it as a key pick-up opportunity for the Democrats.

Three polls in recent weeks paint a different picture. Tuesday, Survey USA put Collins 16 points up. Last week, Rasmussen Reports had Collins 13 points up. A poll by Research 2000, commissioned by the Daily Kos blog, put Collins up by 19 points the week before.

The Rothenberg Political Report has placed the race in the “clear advantage for the incumbent party,” where it has been since last November, when it had moved from the “narrow advantage for the incumbent party” category.

Carol Andrews, spokeswoman for the Allen campaign, said these polls use unreliable methodology. The campaign does its own polling, which she said is accurate and shows the race to be closer.