Sen. Barbara Boxer's (D-Calif.) lead in a general election contest is shrinking, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll of likely California voters conducted Jan. 14.

Boxer tops former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina (R) just 46 to 43 percent. And she leads to other prospective GOP challengers by just a bit more -- 46 to 42 percent over former Rep. Tom Campbell, who just switched from the governor's to Senate race this week; and 46 to 40 percent over state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore.

In a November, Boxer led Fiorina 46 to 37 percent and DeVore 49 to 39 percent.

"The fact that Boxer's support is frozen at 46% against all GOP challengers suggest that the race for now is about her rather than those running against her," Rasmussen wrote in its polling analysis.

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) has fallen further behind ex-Lt. Gov. Jane Norton (R) and even trails two lesser-known Republicans in his campaign for a full term, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Jan. 13.

According to the survey of 500 likely voters, Norton led Bennet by 49 percent to 37 percent. Norton, who is the preferred candidate of many Republican senators, is the leading candidate in a GOP primary that also includes former state Sen. Tom Wiens and county prosecutor Ken Buck, who led Bennet by smaller margins.

The share of poll respondents who said they view Bennet favorably (42 percent) only slightly exceeds the percentage of respondents who said they view him unfavorably (40 percent).

Former Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) holds a slight lead over the two Democrats who are also seeking a key open Senate seat this year, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Jan. 12.

Portman, who served as a top budget and trade official to President George W. Bush, led Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher (D) by 44 percent to 37 percent and Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (D) by 43 percent to 40 percent, according to a canvass of 500 likely voters.

Portman's candidacy is aided by a more favorable political environment for Republican in Ohio than in either 2006 or 2008, when Democrats made big gains. President Obama, who carried Ohio by 52 percent to 47 percent as the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee, has an approval rating of 46 percent and a disapproval rating of 54 percent.

Another poll confirms that Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is starting 2010 in political danger. A Rasmussen Reports survey of likely voters conducted Jan. 11 found that Reid's vote share has dropped to 36 percent among two potential Republican challengers, from 43 percent in December.

A Las Vegas Review-Journal poll released over the weekend found Reid's favorable rating had also dropped since December.

And more than half -- 55 percent -- of voters said they have closely followed the controversy over racial comments Reid made about President Barack Obama in 2008. Another 24 percent said they followed the story somewhat closely.

Reid now trails former state Republican party Chair Sue Lowden 48 to 36 percent and real estate developer Danny Tarkanian (R) 50 to 36 percent. Reid would also lose to former state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle (R) 44 to 40 percent if the election were held today. The margin of error was 4.5 percent.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley's (D) lead over state Sen. Scott Brown (R) in the Senate special election is down to two percentage points, according to a poll of likely voters conducted Jan. 11 by Rasmussen Reports.

Coakley leads Brown 49 to 47 percent, after him topping him 50 to 41 percent in a Rasmussen survey released just last week. Three percent of likely voters back independent candidate Joe Kennedy (no relation to Sen. Edward Kennedy, whose death in August triggered the special election), and 2 percent are undecided. The margin of error is 3 percent.

Brown leads Coakley among the percent of voters who rate him very favorable -- 35 to 32 percent -- and has lower unfavorable ratings -- 33 percent to 40 percent for Coakley.

A Rasmussen Reports poll taken Wednesday suggests that Ken Salazar (D) would not have begun a campaign for governor as the front-runner.

Salazar, a former U.S. senator and current Interior Secretary who is eschewing a bid to succeed retiring Gov. Bill Ritter (D), had 41 percent in the survey, six points behind former Rep. Scott McInnis' 47 percent.

McInnis, the leading Republican candidate, also had a slight lead over Salazar's preferred candidate, Denver mayor John Hickenlooper (D), 45 percent to 42 percent.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) leads state Sen. Scott Brown (R) in the Senate special election race, but by a narrower margin than expected given the Democratic lean of the state, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Jan. 4.

Coakley topped Brown 50 to 41 percent among likely voters, with 7 percent unsure. The margin of error was 4.5 percent.

Both candidates have strong favorable ratings -- Brown was viewed favorably by 56 percent of likely voters and Coakley by 60 percent. Coakely, however, is better known. Just 4 percent of voters had no opinion of her, compared to 17 percent who were unsure about Brown.

The number of Americans identifying themselves as Democrats fell to the lowest level recorded in more than seven years of monthly tracking by Rasmussen Reports.

In December 35.5 percent of American adults view themselves as Democrats, down from 36 percent a month ago and 37.8 percent in October. Prior to December, the lowest total ever recorded for Democrats was 35.9 percent, a figure that was reached twice in 2005.

The tracking was based on telephone interviews with approximately 15,000 adults per month, a method used since November 2002. The margin of error for the full sample is less than 1 percentage point.

The report also showed the number of Republicans inched up by a point in December to 34 percent, the highest total for Republicans since December 2007, just before the 2008 presidential campaign season began. However, the number of Republicans in the country is essentially no different today than it was in November 2008 when Barack Obama was elected president.

Half of Americans believe the country will still be in a recession at the end of 2010, according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll.

The national telephone survey of 1,000 adults, conducted Dec. 29-30, also showed 20 percent believe the country will not be in a recession by the end of the year and 31 percent are not sure.

Despite financial bailouts, an enormous economic stimulus plan and other big government initiatives in 2009, the new findings are virtually identical to those a year ago at this time. That's partly because 50 percent of voters believe increasing government spending is bad for the economy. Just 28 percent believe that increased government spending helps the economy.

Only 22 percent of adults rated 2009 overall as good, excellent or the best year ever, while 41 percent give the past year a poor rating.

Of those polled, 66 percent expect government spending to increase during President Obama's term, while 59 percent say increased government spending will hurt the economy. And 67 percent believe the unemployment rate will be the same or higher at the end of 2010.

More than half, 53 percent, also expect interest rates to be higher in a year's time.

The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

More than three-quarters of voters believe health care overhaul legislation will cost more than projected, a new Rasmussen Reports survey says, and more than half believe the legislation will increase the federal budget deficit.

The telephone poll of 1,000 voters, conducted Dec. 28, showed 78 percent believe the cost of the overhaul will exceed the projections, while 14 percent believe it will not,

On the deficit, 68 percent believe the plan will increase the deficit and only 11 percent say it will achieve its goal of deficit reduction. Also, 81 percent think the eventual plan -- which will be worked out in a House-Senate conference committee -- is somewhat likely to lead to higher taxes for the middle class.

Fifty-three percent of voters say the cost of care is the biggest health care problem that needs to be addressed. Among this group, 89 percent say the proposed legislation is likely to exceed cost expectations, 79 percent believe the plan will increase deficits, and 90 percent think it could lead to higher taxes for the middle class. Lack of universal coverage is the biggest health care problem cited by 23 percent of those surveyed and 13 percent cite quality of care.