From July to October, Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s poll numbers slipped according to our Talk Business Quarterly Poll of 600 likely Arkansas voters.

Lincoln had a favorable rating of 42% in our most recent poll and an unfavorable rating of 46%.  Ten percent had no opinion.

Three months ago, before a contentious August recess, Lincoln had a favorable rating of 49% and an unfavorable rating of 40%.

The latest Talk Business poll was taken on Oct. 12-15, 2009 and has a margin of error of +/- 4%.

The October poll also found that voters were split in their assessment of Lincoln’s job performance.  Forty-five percent of those surveyed said they approved of the job Lincoln was doing as U.S. Senator, while 45% disapproved.  In July, Lincoln’s job approval rating equaled her popularity with 49% approving of her performance and 40% disapproving.

We also asked respondents if Lincoln’s Agriculture Chairmanship position would influence their vote.

Q: Sen. Blanche Lincoln recently became Chairman of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee.  Does this make you more likely or less likely to vote for her in the 2010 election?  And is that much more/less or just somewhat more/less?

12% Much More
10% Somewhat More
47% No Difference
9%  Somewhat Less
13% Much Less
9%  Don’t Know

In another benchmark question from our last poll, we also asked a question about Lincoln versus an unknown opponent.

Q: If the election was held today, and you had to make a choice, would you vote to re-elect Blanche Lincoln as your U.S. Senator no matter who ran against her?

25% Yes
61% No
14% Don’t Know

In our July poll, 27% said they would support Lincoln no matter her opponent and 60% said they would consider another candidate.

Click here to access our full Talk Business Quarterly Poll, including our methodology, comparison statistics and analysis from Democrats and Republicans.