A new Rasmussen survey finds Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway (D) outperforming his Senate primary rival, Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, against their potential general election foes, Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R) and Rand Paul (R).

Grayson, the favored candidate among national GOP leadership, leads Mongiardo by 7 points, but ties with Conway. Paul also leads Mongiardo, though trails Conway by 4 points.

For all the talk of the GOP picking up seats in the midterm elections, this open seat could be one the party has a difficult time holding -- which is perhaps why Grayson picked up a fundraising boost on Capitol Hill last month.

General Election Matchups
Grayson 44 - Mongiardo 37 - Und 14

Paul 43 - Mongairdo 38 - Und 13

Grayson 40 - Conway 40 - Und 17

Paul 38 - Conway 42 - Und 15

Mongiardo was recently caught on tape criticizing Gov. Steve Beshear (D), who recently named a new running mate for his 2011 re-election bid. A DailyKos survey out a month ago found Mongiardo leading Conway in the Dem primary and both candidates performing similarly against Grayson and Paul.

The Rasmussen survey was conducted Sept. 30 of 500 likely voters with a margin of error of +/- 4.5%.