After a narrow win over now-Sen. Claire McCaskill in 2004, Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt has faced a rocky first term. Adding to his woes, the state's popular attorney general, Jay Nixon, has been plotting a bid against Blunt for years. A new poll, taken for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and KMOV-TV shows Nixon is in good position to take the seat back for Democrats.

The Research 2000 poll, conducted 11/12-15, surveyed 800 likely voters for a 3.5% margin of error. Blunt and Nixon were tested.

General Election Matchup
(All / Dem / GOP / Ind / Men / Wom)
Nixon 51 / 86 / 9 / 59 / 47 / 55
Blunt 42 / 8 / 85 / 32 / 47 / 37

Fav/Unfav
Nixon 47 / 41
Blunt 43 / 53

Blunt has a long road ahead of him. Just 40% rate his performance as governor as excellent or good, while 58% say he's done a fair or poor job. Nixon, on the other hand, wins 48% positive ratings and 41% fair or poor.

Democrats will make Missouri a top target, and by doing so they can kill several birds with one stone. The state is an important bellweather in a presidential race, and after picking up McCaskill's Senate seat in 2006, the DCCC is targeting Rep. Sam Graves, a Republican representing the suburbs of Kansas City, as well.