PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -
The race for New York's 21st congressional district is nearly a dead heat.
The latest Siena College poll released Thursday morning shows Matt Doheny and Bill Owens in a virtual tie, with Owens at 44 percent voter support and Doheny at 43. That's compared to a poll conducted back in September -- when Owens had 49 percent support compared to Doheny's 36 percent.
A major shift has been in the Independent vote, where Doheny now leads with 43 percent support to Owens' 41. Back in September, he trailed Owens by 30 points with that group.
"The congressional debates allowed the challenger to become more well known in the district and upped his status. The shift in momentum in the presidential level to Mitt Romney from Barack Obama exerted some coattails on the way people were answering the poll questions. Some endorsements of the newspapers in Glens Falls and in Watertown also helped the challenger," said Harvey Schantz, a Professor of Political Science at Plattsburgh State University.
Owens beat Doheny in the 2010 election by a margin of 48 percent to 46 percent. But the lines of the district were redrawn this year, meaning as much as 40 percent of the electorate is different this year.
