The return of Joe Miller

Recent polling on Miller is scant, but data collected by Alaska pollster Ivan Moore reveals how much the candidate’s reputation had suffered by the end of 2010. In a poll of registered state voters conducted in September of that year, 35 percent had a positive view of Miller, 37 percent a negative one, 12 percent a neutral view; 16 percent said they did not know enough about him to have an opinion. Three months later, just 24 percent of Alaskans in Moore’s survey had a positive impression, while 66 percent had a negative view.

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“He came out of that election with the perception of a seriously scary dude,” Moore said. “Joe Miller’s credibility, or lack of it, as a candidate is not a problem for him until he gets out of the primary. Within the Republican primary, they love him. But once the unwashed masses come into the room for the general, he’s toast, because literally every one of them views him as a loon, and they would vote for anyone to prevent him from getting into office.”

Miller is expected to declare his Senate intentions in the coming weeks and would likely face a crowded field of GOP opponents.

Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell announced in December that he was forming an exploratory to consider a run. Treadwell was an early backer of Mitt Romney’s in 2011 and would provide up a sharp contrast with Miller as a business-minded moderate, but he has indicated that he will stay out of the race if Gov. Sean Parnell throws his own hat into the ring.

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