Attorney General Jay Nixon leads two Republican challengers by double-digit margins in his bid to become the next Governor of Missouri.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the state finds Nixon leading state Treasurer Sarah Steelman 46% to 35%. Nixon leads Congressman Kenny Hulshof by an even larger margin, 48% to 30%. At the moment, the Presidential race in Missouri looks to be much closer.

In the previous poll of the Governor’s race, Nixon led the state’s incumbent chief executive, Republican Matt Blunt, 47% to 42%. Any incumbent who polls below 50% is considered potentially vulnerable and Blunt announced earlier this year that he will not seek re-election.

Nixon is viewed favorably by 57% of the state’s voters, unfavorably by 29%.

Steelman earns favorable reviews from 47% and unfavorable assessments from 29%.

For Hulshof, the numbers are 38% favorable, 35% unfavorable.

While the polling data provides generally good news for Nixon, his own level of support remains below 50%. The data also shows that his current lead exists partly because Democrats are more solidly behind his candidacy than Republicans are behind either Steelman or Hulshof at this time. Given that he has been running as the only Democrat seeking the office for some time, this suggests there is potential for the race to tighten before November.

Nixon leads both Republican candidates among voters not affiliated with either major party. However, large segments of the unaffiliated voters (27% to 34%) are not yet supporting either Nixon or the Republican candidates in these match-ups.

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