Poll shows Rep. Tim Bishop in a battle

Firedoglake is out with another House poll. This one's not as bad as the two last week showing incumbents trailing by 17, but it's not great for Democrats either.

Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) is in for a tough race, and against businessman Randy Altschuler (R) he leads just 47-45 in the new SurveyUSA poll.

It mimics the result of a poll for Altschuler's campaign from November that had Bishop leading 46-26. While Bishop stays in the same spot, essentially, Altschuler's numbers likely went up thanks to some early TV advertising and the automated nature of the poll, which usually has fewer undecideds.

Altschuler still apparently has room to grow, though, with just 66 percent of Republicans supporting him. He wins independents 55-40.

The poll did not test attorney George Demos (R) against Bishop. Demos raised $300,000 in the fourth quarter, establishing himself as a force against the self-funding Altschuler.

President Obama's opproval in Bishop's Long Island district is just 42 percent, with 53 percent disapproving.