From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage –

A new Ivan Moore Research poll on the race between Lisa Murkowski and Joe Miller has Murkowski with a big lead a month before the election. Moore also reports that fewer than half the Alaskans he polled have a favorable view of Sarah Palin.

Moore polled 303 potential Republican primary voters between July 7th and July 11th. He found 61.8 percent (or 187 people) favor Murkowski in the primary. Miller had support from 29.6 percent and another 8.6 percent were undecided.

Moore also asked the full 647 people in the poll, regardless of political affiliation, how they generally felt about Sarah Palin, Miller and Murkowski.

Moore reports 41.1 percent were either “very positive” or “somewhat positive” about Palin, who has endorsed Miller. Moore's poll found 46.6 percent with either a very or somewhat negative view of Palin. The rest of them were neutral.

Moore’s poll indicated that 52.8 percent were positive about Murkowski and 18.3 percent positive about Miller. Fewer than 13 percent of thise polled were negative about Miller, though, with more than half the people having no idea who he is.

Moore tends to work for Democrats but said no one paid for these particular questions. He said he added them to a telephone survey he conducted asking other questions for a variety of clients.

He declined to identify them, saying it’s up to the clients if they want to release the questions they paid for.

Bauer said he does not have his own poll he can share on the race but that the Miller campaign is currently working on a poll. Read the Miller campaign's full response, "Miller campaign calls bogus polling a political stunt," by clicking here.

Moore said he stands by his poll. Berkowitz paid for
one question in the poll, Moore said. "I also had a Republican client who was buying the governor data and whatever, and had two or three other nonpolitical clients on the survey."