A May 12 phone poll of 500 likely voters in Washington suggests that "the re-election prospects for Washington Governor Christine Gregiore (D) have improved significantly over the past two months" according to pollster Rasmussen Reports.

The poll shows Gregoire leading Republican challenger Dino Rossi 11 percentage points, 52 percent to 41 percent.

As the polling firm notes, that's a significant change from March, when Rossi drew 46 percent support to Gregoire's 47 percent.

From Rasmussen's summary:

Gregoire is now viewed favorably by 55% of the state’s voters while Rossi is viewed favorably by 49%. For Gregoire, that represents a two-point gain from the previous survey while Rossi’s figure is down two points.

Those figures include 24% with a Very Favorable opinion of Gregoire and 22% with a Very Unfavorable opinion of her. Twenty-six percent (26%) have a Very Favorable opinion of Rossi while 25% have a Very Unfavorable view.

When it comes to the way she has performed her role as Governor, 44% of Washington voters give Gregoire a good or excellent rating. That’s down a couple of points since March. Twenty-six percent (26%) now say she is doing a poor job.

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