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New polls show McConnell in trouble

A new poll released Thursday night by Alison Lundergan Grimes' campaign shows trouble for Team McConnell. A poll by the Mellman Group shows Grimes, the Democra
Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes speaks during an outdoor political rally in Lexington, Ky., on Tuesday, July 30, 2013. (Photo by Roger Alford/AP)
Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes speaks during an outdoor political rally in Lexington, Ky., on Tuesday, July 30, 2013.

A new poll released Thursday night by Alison Lundergan Grimes' campaign shows trouble for Team McConnell.

A poll by the Mellman Group shows Grimes, the Democratic secretary of state, leading Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell by two points, 44% to 42%. This comes the same day as Public Policy Polling, a left-leaning firm, showed Grimes ahead by one. Both results fall within the margin of error.

The Mellman poll shows Grimes leading among independents, 35% to 28%, and with an even higher margin among moderates, 56% to 23%.

Grimes' lead isn't insurmountable--except that McConnell's approval ratings suggest that he'll have a hard climb. The Mellman poll shows McConnell's job disapproval ratings at 58%.

McConnell has been plagued with low approval ratings and PPP's most recent survey showed 51% of Kentucky voters disapproved of the job he's been doing. Lundergan Grimes' campaign adviser Jonathan Hurst told msnbc.com Thursday that McConnell's unpopularity is "not surprising" and that Kentucky voters are "tired of the obstruction."

The Grimes campaign continually attacks McConnell for being disconnected from Kentuckians and a creature of Washington.

“It’s no surprise that Mitch McConnell’s negatives are so high given the fact that he has sided with Washington special interest groups instead of siding with Kentucky’s working families," said Hurst.

The McConnell campaign dismissed the Mellman results as "concocted" and "fictitious."

The Mellman Group surveyed 750 Kentucky voters by telephone between July 20-24, 2013. The margin of error is +/- 3.6%.