A poll out yesterday by Wilson Research Strategies poll for KWTV from September 10-12 shows Democratic Congressman Brad Carson leading former GOP Congressman Tom Coburn by two points in the race to represent Oklahoma in the Senate. The poll shows the race trending Democratic as Coburn has lost almost 10 points over the past month and a half.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg has an interesting article in tomorrow morning's edition of the New York Times entitled "Old Medical Malpractice Suit Roils Oklahoma Senate Race." The piece shows that at least one issue not related to policies or proposals might have a significant effect on the race. Stolberg writes as follows:

Tom Coburn, a family doctor and Republican Senate candidate, is caught in a controversy over claims that he sterilized a 20-year-old patient without proper consent and defrauded the government by withholding information about the procedure.

"I saved the woman's life," Dr. Coburn, a former congressman, said in an interview Tuesday, in which he dismissed the fraud accusation as "a piece of trash." But his Democratic opponent, Representative Brad Carson, said that the charges were serious and that Dr. Coburn should answer them.

I'm not entirely certain what to make of this piece, but I do know that it will have an effect on the campaign. Specifically, this could be extremely damaging for the extremely conservative Coburn because, as Stolberg writes, he "has staked his political career on his reputation as a medical doctor."

This is not a state in which the Democrats deserve to be competitive. Like Alaska and numerous other states, Kerry has no shot at winning Oklahoma's electoral votes, but it nonetheless looks possible that Carson might steal this seat from the GOP. If he can win, as well as Tony Knowles in Alaska (Barack Obama's victory is a foregone conclusion), it will make the Democrat's attempt to retake the Senate much easier.