Gillibrand Well Ahead Of Ford

Though there's been a lot of talk about transplanted New Yorker Harold Ford, Jr., the former Tennessee congressman and current chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, possibly running for Senate in in that state, incumbent Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) leads him comfortably: Hotline OnCall's Reid Wilson reports that Gillibrand holds a 38% to 18% edge in Quinnipiac's survey on the potential matchup.

It's a significant deficit to overcome, but not necessarily insurmountable, especially given that most New Yorkers don't know enough about Ford to have an opinion. When Quinnipiac asked for general opinions of Ford, 70% said they hadn't heard enough to say, vs. 44% who hadn't heard enough about Gillibrand to voice an opinion (of those who did, 33% liked her and 22% didn't). Gillibrand was appointed by Gov. David Paterson to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate last year; since then, her name recognition has steadily grown.

Quinnipiac polled 921 registered Democrats on Ford vs. Gillibrand questions.