Poll Shows Reedsworth Leading in Trinton Run-Off Election

Poll marks first time incumbent senator has not led

WILMINGTON, Trinton--A new Liberty poll released Saturday shows Conservative-turned-Independent Congressman George Reedsworth leading incumbent Nationalist Sen. Grace Kemp for the first time in the state's run-off Senate election.

The poll shows the two essentially tied, with Reedsworth leading with 51% to Kemp's 49 per cent.

Voters in Trinton will go to the polls on Tuesday for a special run-off election between the three-term incumbent Kemp and the six-term Rep. Reedsworth. The two are heading to a run-off after neither candidate reached the necessary 40 per cent threshold required under Trinton law in the general election.

In the original contest, Kemp garnered 39.6% to Reedsworth's 32.5% and Conservative candidate Randy Kalamaza's 27.9 per cent.

Now it's Reedsworth versus Kemp, and all previous polls have shown Kemp with the edge. But that appears to be changing, as Reedsworth has hit the campaign trail hard, emphasizing Kemp's lengthy history in the Senate, his strongly party-line voting record, and his intensely partisan nature.

"Grace Kemp was named the second-most liberal senator last year. And he's one of the most bitterly partisan senators. He is not independent. He is not bipartisan. He is not a uniter. He's a divider, and the people of Trinton are tired of politics as usual," Reedsworth told reporters at a campaign stop in Turnatin, southeast of Wilmington, Sunday. "The people of this state want a senator who will work with the other side to get things done, not someone who is so obsessed with being right they will impede and obstruct any kind of progress just to support their own selfish efforts."

Those are strong words from a man whose own party is hardly united behind him. Reedsworth decided to run as an independent after he was defeated by right-wing state Sen. Randy Kalamaza in the Conservative primary. Kalamaza, who lost in the three-way general election, has so far declined to endorse Reedsworth.

Sen. Kelsey Frascanio, who originally promised to support Reedsworth in the primary but then changed her mind and backed Kalamaza, is the Conservative from Trinton to publicly endorse Reedsworth in the run-off. Critics say Frascanio is trying to make amends for breaking her word during the primary, something the senator denies.

"I'm not trying to make amends. I was very clear that I supported Randy Kalamaza during the general election. And he would still have been my preferred choice. But George Reedsworth is a good man and his values are more in line with mine and the people of this state than those of Grace Kemp," Frascanio said on GNN's Capitol Report.

Sen. Kit McHenry (C-VER), who heads the Conservative Senate Campaign Committee (CSCC), last week pledged to support Reedsworth in the run-off, despite any past tensions during the primary.

"George Reedsworth is a Conservative and he is the best candidate to represent Trinton in the Senate. And he will have the full backing of the CSCC," McHenry told the GBC's Gene Caughley.

Reedsworth welcomed the lukewarm support from his former party on Sunday, telling local media that he is "touched" to have the support of Frascanio and McHenry and other national leaders. But he also stressed his campaign is not about political affiliation but about a common ideology.

"It's nice to have their support but the people supporting me are not just Conservatives. The people behind this campaign are Conservatives, independents, and concerned Nationalists that believe Grace Kemp has been in office too long and needs to go. There are people from every political party and persuasion that are longing for change and I don't think either party has a monopoly on change," the congressman said.

As for the favorable poll results showing him leading, the Reedsworth campaign brushed it off, telling the NPF the congressman is "campaigning as if he's behind by twenty points."

"We've never taken this election for granted and we never will," campaign spokesman Cory Martin said.

The Kemp campaign dismissed the poll and Reedsworth's comments, saying the congressman, who has already previously ran for Senate twice in the past, "will do or say anything to get elected."

"George Reedsworth is traveling around this state trashing Grace Kemp and it's all because he has no ideas and no vision for this state," campaign spokeswoman Mary Nam said. "Attacking Grace Kemp is not a solution, it's a cheap campaign trick.

"The people of Trinton recognize that Grace Kemp has delivered for our state and is best-prepared to lead us during these difficult times," Nam continued.

Kemp himself was campaigning in Tornboro in the northeastern part of the state, Sunday. In order to win, the senator must have strong support from the northern liberal stronghold of Tornboro and the northern sections of Wilmington.

The Reedsworth campaign is focusing on the southern and much more conservative part of the state, where high voter turn-out there could push the congressman over the edge.