10/07/2010 - Could Scandal Swing Sec. of State race? (WISHTV)

NDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The race for Indiana Secretary of State could swing on a scandal involving Republican candidate Charlie White.

Democrat Vop Osili is the underdog in the race yet he likes what he sees in the WISH-TV Indiana 2010 Election poll. It shows Charlie White with a ten point lead over Osili, 39 percent to 29 percent. Libertarian Mike Wherry is at 5 percent.

"It says we got 26-percent of the folks who are undecided and who are still looking for someone who is going to represent them," says Osili.

Osili plans to take advantage of voter fraud charges against Republican Charlie White, who is accused of being registered at his ex-wife's Fishers home and voting nearby while living miles away.

White has declined TV interviews since the scandal broke. His campaign scheduled an interview with 24 Hour News 8 to discuss the poll and then canceled citing "campaign commitments."

Meantime our poll shows Osili leading in Marion County by six, 39 to 33, a lead that could have something to do with the scandal. Consider that statewide, White's negatives are 4 percent but in Marion County, where the scandal has been widely reported, they jump to 11 percent.

Osili says voters statewide will learn about White's problems in ads that will begin by Monday. 24 Hour News 8's Jim Shella asked him, "So, it's your hope that the problems surrounding Charlie White's voter registration will be a determining factor in this race?" "Well, I don't even think it's a hope," said Osili. "I know that it will be."

Here's the other important finding: both candidates are virtually unknown. Name recognition for White is just 27 percent, for Osili it is 16 percent. That means that there is plenty of opportunity here for each candidate to define the other.

The third party candidate, Mike Wherry, is also an important factor here. His 5 percent showing is well above the 2 percent required to guarantee ballot access for Libertarian candidates through 2014.

Survey of 500 Likely Voters was conducted September 29 - October 1, 2010. The margin of error is +/- 4.4 percentage points.