Members of Congress facing tough races this fall are using telephone town halls to strengthen their candidacies with swing voters. A recent poll commissioned in a targeted race confirms the benefits of these extended conversations between the candidate and constituents.

Below are highlights from an early February poll that show the advantage of telephone town halls. The survey asked the traditional questions of a benchmark poll, and included a question on whether the voter had ever “been contacted by phone or mail by the Congressman.” This cross tabs from the research confirm that Zata|Forums can make a huge difference:

You Can Establish Your Independence Through a Zata|Forum

• When asked if they felt this member were an “independent voice in Congress” those who had heard from the Congressman agreed 16% more than those who had not been contacted.

You Can Define Yourself Through a Zata|Forum

• When asked if they felt this member “shared my values”, those who had heard from the Congressman were 17% more favorable.
• When asked if this member fights for people like me, those who had heard from the Congressman were 10% more favorable.
• When asked about his performance in office compared to their expectations, those who had heard from the Congressman were 10% more favorable.

You Will Increase the Electoral Odds In Your Favor With A Zata|Forum

• When asked the favorability/unfavorability question, those who had heard from the Congressman were 8% more favorable.
• When asked the reelect question, those who had heard from the Congressman showed a 12 % (positive) difference from other voters.

* To respect the confidentiality of this survey, we cannot disclose the Congressional District or the pollster. We can disclose that the DCCC has publicly confirmed that this race is a targeted contest, that the incumbent is a self identified Democrat, and that the poll taken in early 2010, with a sample size of 500, was conducted by a national pollsters employed by the DCCC, DSCC and the DNC.