Jim Beck, writing for the Evansville Courier Press did a follow up on the poll showing Ellsworth leading Hostettler by 15%. The poll was questioned by many because of the huge gender discrepancy: 63.5% women and 36.5% men. However, the follow up reveals that gender was not a significant factor in which candidate was preferred. In fact, the men were slightly more likely to favor Ellsworth: 48.2% versus 47.1% of women. By contrast, Hostettler was polling at something like 32%.
I have never trusted university polls, mainly because of their track record. Simply put, political science students and professors just don’t have the experience necessary to conduct proper polling. Most polls put Ellsworth ahead, but not by much.