Though both men are popular in the state, Hoeven tops Dorgan 55 percent to 36 percent, with 9 percent undecided. The margin of error is 4.5 percent.

Hoeven's margin grows if North Dakota voters are informed that Dorgan supports the Democrat's health care overhaul legislation -- 57 percent to 32 percent for Dorgan.

Really.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll taken Nov. 13-15 found that 82 percent of American adults contacted for the survey said the economy was poor.

And while Americans are looking for someone to blame, they appear to be shifting some of that burden from the Republicans to the Democrats.

Boxer tops former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina (R) among likely California voters, 46 to 37 percent, and state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R) 46 to 36 percent. In both match-ups, 5 percent of voters say they would back some other candidate and 12 to 13 percent were unsure. The margin of error was 4.5 percent.

Fiorina formally launched her campaign Nov. 4 but does not appear to have gotten much of a bounce out of the roll-out. Boxer's lead over both Republicans is narrower than in a Field Poll released in early October, but holds steady with a Ramussen poll conducted earlier this fall.

McCain leads Hayworth 45 percent to 43 percent, with anti-illegal immigration activist Chris Simcox taking 4 percent. The margin of error was 4 percent.

McCain was expected to coast to a 5th term next year, and he still could, if Hayworth doesn't run. He doesn't have a serious general election challenger and Simcox, the other declared Republican, has not shown the capacity to gain much traction among voters.

Fox said 46 percent marked a low point in Obama's approval since taking office, which has averaged 56 percent. The high point for his approval in a Fox News poll came a week after his inauguration when it was 65 percent.

Low point or not, the president is better at his job than Congress, which has an approval rating of 26 percent and disapproval of 63 percent, according to the Fox poll.

Giuliani was all over the headlines in New York on Thursday after associates leaked word he would not run for governor, as many had expected. Giuliani is reportedly more interested in the Senate race, and with good reason, according to the Marist results. He trumps Gillibrand, the freshman senator appointed in January, with a majority of voters, 54 to 40 percent. The margin of error was 3.5 percent.

Giuliani leads both among Republicans -- 84 to 12 percent -- and independents -- 55 to 41 percent. He even takes a third of Democratic voters, trailing Gillibrand 59 to 33 percent.

Whitman and Brown each pull 41 percent of support among likely voters in the Democratic leaning state, the poll found. Three percent would support some other candidate and 14 percent are unsure. The margin of error was 4.5 percent.

Whitman trailed Brown 35 percent to 44 percent in the last Rasmussen poll.

While 74 percent of the respondents to the survey say they like Obama as a person, 47 percent say they like his policies, the Quinnipiac poll found.

"Most Americans like President Barack Obama and might like to have a beer with him," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "But millions of voters who sided with him last November because they thought he would bring change to Washington aren't crazy about the kind of change he is trying to bring."

Forty-seven percent said the president should send in the additional troops that his commanders in Afghanistan have requested, but 55 percent said the American commitment should be for two years or less.

"Overall, the new numbers on Afghanistan show an almost across the board erosion of support for the war and worries about getting too deeply involved there militarily. But when the focus is on fighting terror, American resolve remains strong," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

The same poll found that 56 percent favor creating a federally run health insurance program to compete with private insurance companies, and 66 percent said state governments should not be allowed to decide whether the federal insurance would apply everyone in the state.

The CNN poll found the public evenly split 49 percent-49 percent on whether the government should require everyone in the country to obtain health insurance, and 66 percent were opposed to cutting back federal spending on managed care programs under Medicare.

Carnahan, the Missouri Secretary of State, drew 43 percent support in the poll of 763 voters. Blunt, who represents the southwestern 7th District in the U.S. House, had 42 percent.

Carnahan is running even with Blunt even though more respondents think unfavorably (38 percent) than favorably (30 percent) of the Republican. Carnahan is viewed favorably by 40 percent and unfavorably by 36 percent.

A telephone poll of 873 adults conducted Nov. 13-15 by CBS News showed 23 percent have a favorable view of the former Alaska governor. That matches her favorable rating in July, when Palin announced she was resigning from her job as governor.

Thirty-eight percent, meanwhile, have an unfavorable view of her -- also roughly matching her July rating. Another 37 percent say they are undecided or haven't heard enough. The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

On the political side, a CNN poll indicated fewer than three in 10 Americans think Palin is qualified to be president.

While a 56 percent to 42 percent majority approve of the way President Obama is handling his job, 47 percent approve of his handling of the health care issue, and 49 percent disapprove, according to The Post-ABC poll.

This fits a pattern with other polls on the issue showing people evenly divided on the plans to alter the delivery and payment for health care in this country. And in polls for The Post and ABC News, public opinion last spring favored overhauling the health system, but that sentiment flipped in August with more people disapproving than approving. The two sides of this issue have been virtually tied since then.

The poll shows Biden now leading Castle 45 percent to 40 percent, with 8 percent undecided and 6 percent saying they would vote for someone else.

In a Susquehanna poll in April, Castle was leading Biden 55 percent to 34 percent.

Coleman, who lost a seven-month recount battle to Democrat Al Franken for Minnesota's Senate seat, has not indicated that he intends to run. But if he does, he starts with a huge lead over the rest of the GOP field among likely voters, with 50 percent of the vote. In second, at 11 percent, is state Rep. Marty Seifert, who stepped down from his post as House minority leader to run for governor.

Seifert is followed by state Rep. Laura Brod, who received 5 percent of GOP support despite withdrawing from the race for medical reasons, and state Rep. Tom Emmer who came in at 1 percent. Seven percent of likely Republican voters supported another candidate and 26 percent remain unsure. The margin of error was 5.5 percent.