Another new poll shows that U.S. Rep. Tom Allen has closed the gap between he and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins in the Nov. 4 Senate election.

Rasmussen Reports, a national independent polling firm, finds that Collins is leading Allen by 53 percent to 43 percent, a 10-point margin that is down from a 13-point lead last month and a 15-point lead in August.

The Rasmussen trend echoes that of a poll released Monday by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. That poll reported that Collins' lead over Allen had shrunk to 8 percentage points, with the Republican senator ahead by 49 percent to 41 percent.

Collins is one of several Republican senators who are losing support as a result of concerns over the economy, Rasmussen says. The firm says Republican senate seats in Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon and Virginia are now at risk.

In Maine, Allen, a Democrat, has the support of 80 percent of his party and 3 percent of Republicans, while Collins has the support of 94 percent of Republicans and 20 percent of Democrats, the poll found. Unenrolled voters back Collins, 55 percent to 37 percent.

The Maine poll was conducted by telephone last Thursday. It involved 500 likely voters and has a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points, at a 95 percent confidence level.

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