North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven's bid for the state's open Senate seat is off to a good start, as a new Daily Kos/Research2000 poll finds him leading three potential Democratic opponents -- Ed Schultz, Heidi Heitkamp, Jasper Schneider.

The person many political observers felt could give Hoeven his most difficult race, Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.), is instead running for re-election and leads two Republican challengers -- Kevin Cramer, Duane Sand. However, Pomeroy is polling below 50% against both, and the Democratic Party has just a 25% favorable rating in the state, while the GOP is at 39%.

Senate
Hoeven 56 - Schultz 32 - Und 12

Hoeven 55 - Heitkamp 34 - Und 11

Hoeven 56 - Schneider 32 - Und 12

House
Pomeroy 46 - Cramer 24 - Und 30

Pomeroy 47 - Sand 22 - Und 31

--------------------------------------------
Follow the RCP Blog on Twitter.
Become a fan of RCP on Facebook.
--------------------------------------------