Some shocking numbers today from the SurveyUSA poll of Republican Primary voters [1] here in Missouri.  The poll shows Congressman Hulshof with a slight 29% to 24% lead on Sarah Steelman and 32% of voters still undecided.  But who cares?  The real news is that some dude named Steve Scott Long is clocking in with 10% of the vote.  

Better than that, check out the crosstabs: the survey shows Steve Scott Long dominating Hulshof in the Kansas City area, hauling in 24% of the vote in that geographic region compared with Hulshof's 8%. 

Long's also running in a dead heat with Hulshof in the poll in the Southeast Missouri region, where Kenny constantly claims to have his roots.  Hulshof leads Long only by a single point in that split, 17 to 16%.

Given Long's surprising surge in the polls and Hulshof's decision earlier this week to begin the negative campaign against Sarah Steelman [2], the Long campaign is bracing for the inevitable attacks from the Hulshof camp. 

When will Team Kenny go negative against Steve Scott Long?  They don't know yet, but you can bet that right now a squadron of crackerjack consultants is sitting around a conference table asking themselves, "What would Fred Thompson do?"

**Updated thanks to Monk in comments, who points out that it's Scott, not Steve, Long.