Parnell over Berkowitz in new polls

One's from the right, the other's from the left. But both agree that Gov. Sean Parnell and lite gov sidekick Mead Treadwell are fairly far ahead as the final campaign for the governor's office begins.

New polls released today give a double-digit lead to the GOP contenders vs. the Democratic ticket of Ethan Berkowitz and Diane Benson.

First, the Republican Governors Association puts Parnell up by 14 points against Berkowitz, 54 percent to 40 percent. It also looked at a three-way race -- Parnell, Berkowitz and Walker -- that shook out this way: Parnell, 46 percent, Berkowitz 32 percent, Walker 14 percent. That surveyed 400 likely voters on Aug. 29.

The Democrat-leaning Public Policy Polling also has the Republicans ahead, but by about 18 percent. Parnell 55 percent to Berkowitz 37 percent.

The PPP survey notes that Berkowitz has "pretty good favorability" numbers but that it's still an uphill climb for a Democrat running in a Republican state "in a year that trumps his personal popularity."

The PPP poll also put Republican Don Young over Democrat Harry Crawford, 55 percent to 36 percent. It noted that Crawford is mostly unknown with 53 percent of voters saying they have no opinion.