A Des Moines Register poll released Saturday shows Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Bruce Braley trailing GOP rival Joni Ernst by six points in Iowa's Senate race.
The survey found that Ernst, a state senator, leads Braley 44 percent to 38 percent. The poll also found Ernst with a four-to-one lead among rural voters, with many of those respondents finding Braley's remarks about Sen. Chuck Grassley's (R-Iowa) farming background problematic.
Of the likely voters surveyed, 12 percent remain undecided.
Earlier polls have found the race deadlocked. A NBC/Marist survey released in July found each candidate at 43 percent, with 14 percent of likely voters still undecided.
The race to replace outgoing Sen. Tom Harkin (D) is one of this election cycle's most competitive, and could prove pivotal in the fight to control the Senate. With less than 40 days until the election, HuffPost Pollster's forecast shows Democrats with a 42 percent chance of holding on to the upper chamber.
The latest Des Moines Register poll surveyed 546 likely voters from September 21 through 24. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.
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