Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR) has opened up a real lead in his effort to unseat Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR).

A new poll released Monday by Talk Business & Politics and Hendrix College finds Cotton with an 8 point advantage over the incumbent Pryor. Cotton, in the poll, boasts 49 percent of the vote, compared to Pryor’s 40.5 percent.

The last poll the outfit performed on the race for U.S. Senate was in July and found Cotton with a two-point lead: 44 percent to Pryor’s 42 percent.

“As early voting begins and candidates begin their homestretch run, Cong. Cotton is poised to knock off Sen. Pryor barring any major disasters,” Talk Business & Politics Editor-in-Chief Roby Brock said in a statement.

Brock did, however, anticipate that the final polling could be tighter.

“I do think this race tightens, however, as Democrats are pushing for a massive get-out-the-vote effort among newly registered and dormant voters. How big that impact will be is anyone’s guess. It’s complicated and nearly impossible to accurately poll that universe,” Brock said.

The wide margin is the greatest Cotton has held to date in public polls. The Real Clear Politics Average has Cotton with a 5.5 percentage point lead.

The Talk Business & Politics survey was conducted from Oct. 15-16 among 2,075 frequent Arkansas voters and has a margin of error of +/-2.2 percent.