In his bid for reelection Arizona Senator Jon Kyl (R) now leads real
estate developer Jim Pederson (D) 52% to 35%. That's about the same
spread that the Rasmussen Reports poll of the Senate race showed a
month ago.

Kyl is viewed favorably by 59% of all voters, Pederson by 44%.

Struggling for a foothold, Pederson's campaign has said it will
showcase Kyl's disagreement about immigration with another Republican,
Senator John McCain. Kyl stresses enforcement and border control,
whereas McCain advocates a broader approach that includes a path to
citizenship for illegal immigrants ("amnesty").

However, our surveys on the issue show that an enforcement-first (or
enforcement-only) policy is more popular with voters than the McCain
approach. And Arizona voters generally trust Republicans more than
Democrats when it comes to immigration, as well as on other issues we
polled about.

Immigration is an especially hot topic in a border state like Arizona.
The issue played a role in a much-noticed congressional special
election in another border state, California, where Republican
candidate Brian Bilbray's public criticism of McCain's approach
provoked the Senator to cancel a planned fundraising appearance for
him.

Despite the drama, it's unclear how much can be inferred about
national trends from Bilbray's victory, given the fact that the
district has generally voted Republican. (Meanwhile, in Arizona's
gubernatorial campaign, tough talk about sealing the border has yet to
help the Republicans.)

President Bush isn't benefiting from the Republican leanings of the
state. Only 46% approve of the overall job he's doing as the nation's
chief executive; 52% disapprove; 40% Strongly Disapprove. On specific
issues, at least 40% regard his performance as Poor on immigration,
Iraq, and energy policy. The President fares a little better with
voters when it comes to the economy and national security.

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Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.

Rasmussen Reports was the nation's most accurate polling firm during the Presidential election and the only one to project both Bush and Kerry's vote total within half a percentage point of the actual outcome.

During Election 2004, RasmussenReports.com was also the top-ranked public opinion research site on the web. We had twice as many visitors as our nearest competitor and nearly as many as all competitors combined.

Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.