New York 29 -- Strong Dem
(Avg of Last 3 Polls)
Eric Massa (D) -- 48
Randy Kuhl (R)* -- 41
_

The last two polls for NY's 29th District have shown Eric Massa leading his Republican opponent by less than the polls' margins of error. That has all changed with the latest poll results.

Now Massa leads Kuhl by 12 points according to a new poll conducted by the independent organization Majority Watch.

The poll shows Massa with 52% of likely voters preferring him compared to only 40% selecting Kuhl. In addition, voters in the northern half of the 29th district (Rochester suburbs and parts of Ontario County) favor Massa by 26%. In the GOP-leaning Southern tier, Kuhl still maintains his advantage, but only by a single point.

This surge comes after both candidates have "dramatically increased their media presence on both radio and television and have participated in a series of five public debates":

"We knew from earlier polling that name recognition was our biggest challenge," said Massa's Campaign Manager, Mike Nolan. Previous data had indicated that voters familiar with both Massa and Kuhl preferred the challenger by a margin of 2 to 1. "The voters are tired of Randy Kuhl," continued Nolan. "Once they get a chance to hear from Eric Massa they overwhelmingly support him."