Former Rep. Anne Northup (R) faces an uphill climb as she attempts to regain the Louisville-based House seat she lost in the previous cycle to now-Rep. John Yarmuth (D).

According to a new report by the automated polling firm SurveyUSA, Yarmuth earned 57 percent to Northup’s 40 percent in a head-to-head matchup. The survey of 646 likely voters, taken for WHAS-TV in Louisville, was in the field June 6-8 and had a 3.9-point margin of error.

Before Northup entered the race, the National Republican Congressional Committee commissioned a survey in January that showed her polling within the margin of error in a hypothetical rematch.

But according to the SurveyUSA poll, Northup, who is coming off a 2007 GOP primary defeat in the gubernatorial contest, is beginning the general election contest behind among several important constituencies.

The poll showed her losing the women’s vote to Yarmuth 59 percent to 38 percent. Men chose Yarmuth 55 percent to 42 percent. Voters over the age of 50 chose Yarmuth 54 percent to 43 percent, while voters under 50 chose Yarmuth 59 percent to 37 percent. Voters falling in the 18- to 34-year-old range chose Yarmuth 65 percent to 30 percent.

— John McArdle