Long-Schellinger In Dead Heat Race

A new poll conducted for the South Bend Tribune and several local television stations this week has Jill Long Thompson clinging to a single-point lead of 42%-41% over her Democratic gubernatorial primary opponent Jim Schellinger. The same pollster found Long up 30 points over Schellinger last September. The poll is not all bad news for Thompson. She holds a 15-point lead over Schellinger among women and a 10-point lead among blacks. Those two voting blocs are likely to be disproportionately represented in a Democratic primary election. The two candidates split the white vote evenly in the poll.