In a poll conducted back between May 6 and May 10 by the firm Hellenthal and Associates out of Anchorage, friend-of-the-tubes Ted Stevens looks to be in trouble against Democratic challenger Mark Begich:

The survey found 51 percent of those responding would vote for Begich in November's general election, compared to 44 percent who said they would back Stevens.

The poll indicates Begich is gaining name recognition across the state, but Stevens, who's served in the Senate since 1968, also remains popular.

Some 58 percent of responders said they felt very or somewhat positive toward Begich, while only 16 percent had a negative opinion of the 45-year-old Democratic mayor. Eleven percent of those responding didn't know of Begich.

For Stevens, the numbers were a little closer -- 49 percent had a positive opinion, while 40 percent had a negative opinion. All of the survey's 269 responders knew Stevens was the state's senior senator.

The poll's strangely small sample size of likely voters and MoE of +/- 6% does raise some questions. But the results track with what Research 2000 found in its mid-May poll for DailyKos:

Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 5/12-14. Likely voters. MoE 4% (12/3-6 results)

If 2008 election for U.S. Senate were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Mark Begich, the Democrat, and Ted Stevens, the Republican?

Stevens   (R) 43 (41)
Begich    (D) 48 (47)

Stevens faces a tough challenge - while nearly all Alaskans know him, the Hellenthal poll showed just under 50% actually have a positive opinion of him. The Reasearch 2000 poll shows worse numbers for Stevens, with combined "very favorable" or "favorable" number at just 38%.

As more Alaskans get to know Begich, we'll see if his negatives stay so low. But right now, it looks like Stevens is stuck with a  corruption ball and chain around his ankle.