A Reuters/Ipsos poll of the Senate race in Pennsylvania puts Republican Pat Toomey and Democrat U.S. Rep. Joseph Sestak, D-7, of Edgmont, neck and neck. 
Excerpts from Andy Sullivan's story follow:


Democrat Joe Sestak has gained ground on Republican Pat Toomey after
accusing him of wanting to export U.S. jobs to China and both candidates are
now level on 46 percent.

While dozens of Democrats across the country may lose their seats due to the
9.6 percent unemployment, Sestak appears to have turned the issue to his
favor.

He has hammered Toomey's support of free-trade policies and even suggested
in one advertisement that Toomey "ought to run for Senate in China." Many
Americans resent the rapid rise of cheaper manufacturing in China that has
cut into U.S. jobs.

Sestak was ten points behind the Republican, a former derivatives trader, in
the last Reuters/Ipsos poll in Pennsylvania in late August.

"Sestak's campaign made a concerted effort to talk about how they're the
candidate who stands for American industry versus Toomey, who stands for
Wall Street," said Ipsos senior research manager Chris Jackson. "They have
been able to take that particular issue and twist it to their advantage."

In Tuesday's poll, some 48 percent of those surveyed said free trade
subjected U.S. companies to unfair competition from cheap labor abroad,
while 44 percent said free trade was good because it opened up global
markets.

By a margin of 37 percent to 31 percent, voters said Sestak would do a
better job than Toomey of keeping jobs in the United States. More voters
also said Sestak would be better at dealing with China and standing up for
U.S. interests.

Toomey was seen as more likely to balance the budget by a margin of 36
percent to 28 percent. The two candidates were seen as equal on creating
jobs in the state.
 
Ipsos surveyed 600 Pennsylvania adults between Friday and Sunday, and 400 of
those surveyed were identified as likely voters. The survey has a margin of
error of 4.9 percentage points for likely voters.