Rasmussen has released two new sets of polls for Rhode Island, one for the Senate race and one for the Governor’s race. Short version – in the Senate, incumbent Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R) 44% - state Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse (D) 42% and in the Governor’s race, Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty (D) 41% - incumbent Gov. Donald Carcieri (R) 40 %.

Both races are shaping up to be difficult contests for the Republican incumbents. In the Senate race, Chaffee is getting it from both sides. He is facing a primary challenge from Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey, and both candidates have unleashed a barrage of negative advertising. According to the polls, the ads seem to be working, with both candidates’ favorability ratings falling. Laffey does not seem to fare well against Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, trailing him 60%-25%. Chaffee’s numbers vs. Whitehouse have not changed significantly since the last Rasmussen poll in April (Chaffee 44% - Whitehouse 41%).

In the Governor’s race, Carcieri seems to be facing a difficult challenge with fairly weak numbers against Fogarty. Fogarty has been holding strong since the last Rasmussen poll in May.