New data shows that support for offshore drilling has reached its lowest level ever in Rasmussen’s latest polling. Here’s how the GOP-friendly pollster** frames the latest data (emphasis mine):

With the deepwater oil leak apparently capped after three months of gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, support for both offshore oil drilling and drilling further out in deepwater remains largely unchanged. Most voters also remain concerned about the potential environmental impact of new drilling.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 56% of U.S. Voters now believe offshore oil drilling should be allowed, while 26% oppose it. One-in-five voters (19%) are undecided.

That’s down from 60% last month. Since the oil rig explosion that caused the massive oil leak, support for offshore drilling has ranged from 56% to 64%.

Predictably, Rasmussen leaves most of the useful information out of their analysis. In their polling immediately prior to the rig explosion in the Gulf, 72% of likely voters supported offshore drilling. Even with Rasmussen’s skewed likely voter model, this represents a 16% shift in just 11 weeks. The current level of support among likely voters, 56%, is the lowest ever recorded by Rasmussen for this question. Moreover, support among Democrats for offshore drilling has dropped from 54% in early April to just 29% in the latest poll. Support among Republicans remains relatively flat, down just 4%. GOP support for offshore drilling, at 82%, is actually up 8% from its low point in late May.

Citing a Rasmussen poll Greg Sargent took note of yesterday, which indicated that 22% of Americans currently have a favorable view of BP, Barbara Morrill at Daily Kos asks who these 22% of Americans are. Using the crosstabs from the poll (premium account required), I put together this chart to answer Barbara’s question.

Dem. Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut is weathering last week’s revelations that he fudged some accounts of his Vietnam-era military service, his campaign’s internal poll shows. One other poll finds a different result.

It appears the Pennsylvania Democratic electorate is rapidly moving toward Rep. Joe Sestak in his May 18 primary challenge to former long-term Republican senator Arlen Specter. Specter left the GOP last year when he thought he would lose the Republican primary and determined running as a Democrat would give him a better shot at keeping his seat. With the backing of the White House, Specter has led Sestak in the polls for months, but with the election less than a week away, the trend is now moving in Sestak’s direction.