“The good work of so many Republicans, conservatives and moderates alike, is being nullified by the ignorance and ego of the very few,” said Brock McCleary, the former deputy executive director of the House GOP’s campaign arm He questioned whether there was much more the party could do to rein in its most wildly unhelpful members. “If public humiliation is not a sufficient deterrent,” McCleary said, “what can the party possibly do to prevent it?”

“Over the last few years, we’ve seen a country increasingly polarized across party lines when it comes to almost all attempts to move legislation. Yet, the compromise that’s been crafted on immigration reform is a rare exception to that rule. The bill that’s been constructed has broad support with every segment of the electorate in every part of the country,” write Jensen, who heads the firm Public Policy Polling, and McCleary, of Harper Polling.

The poll by Republican firm Harper Polling, conducted May 15 and May 16, asked voters who they would support in the 36th if the election were held today. Forty-four percent said they would support Nestande, R-Palm Desert, and 41 percent would support Ruiz, D-Palm Desert. Fifteen percent of voters were undecided.

The NRCC contracted with the Republican firm Harper Polling, which contacted 587 Utahns on May 15 and May 16, finding that 44 percent would vote for Matheson, who was identified as a Democrat, if the election were held today and 41 percent would support Love, the mayor of Saratoga Springs. Fifteen percent were not sure.

Voter positions appear to be hardened along partisan and ideological lines. A poll by Harper Polling this year showed that nearly 67 percent of Republicans oppose expanding Medicaid, and 80 percent of Democrats support it.

Democratic recruiting busts and Obama administration controversies, Walden argues, have put Democrats on defense. He pointed to five Democratic-held districts (California’s 36th district, Florida’s 26th district, Illinois’ 10th and 12th districts, and Utah’s 4th district) where internal automated polling suggested signs for Republican optimism. “House Republicans are expanding the playing field and putting Democrats on defense on their own turf,” writes Walden. Democrats need to net 17 seats to win back the House.

State Assemblyman Brian Nestande’s congressional campaign is still in its earliest stages, but his fellow Republicans have faith that he can unseat Rep. Raul Ruiz. The National Republican Congressional Committee today released internal polling that shows Nestande leading Ruiz 44 percent to 41 percent.

The NRCC cites new automated polling from GOP firm Harper Polling showing them leading in three Democratic held districts — GOP challenger Brian Nestande up three points over freshman Democrat Raul Ruiz in California’s 36th District; former Rep. Bob Dold leading Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider in a re-match in Illinois’s 10th District by five points; and Rep. Bill Enyart trailing Republican Mike Bost by six points in Illinois’s 12th District. And a Tarrance Group poll in California’s 52nd Distirct shows Republican Carl DeMaio up 10 points over freshman Democrat Scott Peters.

“There’s great concern about the ability to implement the law in seven months,” McCleary said. “I think you have to search high and low for someone who says implementation is going great … Whether you agree or disagree with the law, implementation is a problem."

In a Wednesday memo to the House Republican Conference obtained exclusively by CQ Roll Call, Walden says his committee will be “aggressively expanding the playing field” thanks, in part, to Democratic recruitment struggles.

In a strategy memo shared with UtahPolicy.com, the poll shows Matheson with just 44% support to Love’s 41%. Whenever an incumbent is below 50%, they’re considered to be in danger. The 3% gap is well within the poll’s margin of error.

A slight plurality of voters in the district, 42 percent, said they'd prefer someone new compared to the 37 percent of those who said Garcia deserves reelection, according to the survey of 450 district voters taken by Harper Polling for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

The Tea Party Leadership Fund commissioned a Harper Poll that shows Sarah Palin leads the Republican field in Alaska for the upcoming Senate seat. It is only by 2 points (32 to 30%), but that is without her even saying she is interested.

A Harper Polling survey conducted on May 6 and 7 showed Palin leading the second-place Republican candidate, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, 32 percent to 30 percent.

Forty-one percent say Dayton should get a second term next year, while 47 percent want someone new, a statewide survey by Harper Polling found. The Minnesota Jobs Coalition, a conservative advocacy group, commissioned the poll.

A poll taken the first week of May by the Republican group Harper Polling found Miller’s personal image in strongly negative territory. Forty-nine percent of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of the Yale Law grad, versus 34 percent who had a favorable impression and 17 percent who had no opinion of Miller or had not heard of him.

A Republican pollster, Harper Polling, found in a survey earlier this month that 49 percent of those polled had an unfavorable opinion of Miller, while just 34 percent had a favorable opinion. Seventeen percent had no opinion or had not heard of Miller.

Sarah Palin would have a narrow edge in the GOP primary to challenge Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) in 2014, according to a poll whose sponsors hope to draft her for the race. Palin would take 32 percent of the primary vote, followed closely by Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell at 30 percent, according to the Republican firm Harper Polling. Joe Miller, the Tea Party-backed Republican nominee in 2010, would take 24 percent.

The Lower 48 may not have seen the last of Sarah Palin. The controversial ex-Alaska governor and former Republican vice presidential candidate is her party’s top choice in the upcoming race for the U.S. Senate, according to a new Harper Polling survey.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) would start off with a slight edge over the GOP field if she decides to run for the Senate in Alaska, according to a new poll conducted for a group that's trying to draft her for the 2014 race.