Was the Hoffman poll credible? Worth covering?

We’re receiving a fair amount of push-back on our coverage of the Hoffman-funded poll that was released on Wednesday.

Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman released numbers indicating that he is in third place, but also suggesting a fairly tight race.

Republican Dede Scozzafava has 30%, according to the survey. Democrat Bill Owens has 20%. Hoffman is at 19%

Some people we’ve heard from were actually called as part of the poll and they point out that some of the questions were politically biased, or “push” questions.

I looked closely at the poll, its questions and methodology — and I talked with the poll-taker, John McLaughlin.

Here’s my take:

The most important question was asked before any of the political rhetoric was thrown in. Here’s the question from the poll script.

If the 2009 special election for United States Congress were held today, and the candidates were Dede Scozzafava, the Republican party candidate, Bill Owens, the Democratic party candidate, and Doug Hoffman, the Conservative party candidate for whom would you vote?

Names were rotated to avoid any “list bias.” And that basic ballot measure preceded the partisan pushiness.

Therefore, I think the 30-20-19 number is a fairly credible (if also debatable) snapshot of the race.

That said, we also made it clear to listeners that this poll was paid for by Mr. Hoffman and wasn’t independent.

Finally, we included criticism from other candidates about the credibility of the poll. So we think our audience could make informed conclusions about this information.

One other note: I think the poll was worth a story in part because those pushy political questions offered an interesting insight into the Hoffman campaign’s concerns.

Here’s an example:

All things being equal, based on the following descriptions for whom are you more likely to vote for U.S. Congress? If you will decide your vote on other issues just say so. A Democratic candidate who is pro-abortion and is supported by Nancy Pelosi, who supports gay marriage. A liberal Republican who is pro abortion and pro gay marriage, OR, A Conservative Republican who is running on the Conservative Party line, who is pro-life and pro traditional marriage.

On the trail, the Conservative candidate has spent a lot of time talking about pocketbook issues, taxes and deficits.

But his pollster focused on “family values” issues, such as abortion, pointing out that Assemblywoman Scozzafava is pro-choice.

There wasn’t a single question that focused on dollars-and-cents issues.

I think that gives an important glimpse of where important political fault line lies in this contest.