Poll: Lieberman’s Approval Hits New Low

BY SUSAN HAIGH

ASSOCIATED PRESS

HARTFORD — Senator Joe Lieberman’s popularity is at a new low in his home state of Connecticut, with approval ratings dipping Tuesday below 50 percent for the first time in the 14-year history of the Quinnipiac poll.

Lieberman, the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2000 who now serves as an independent and supports Republican John McCain’s presidential campaign, has a 45 percent approval rating in the poll, conducted by Quinnipiac University and released Tuesday.

Only 26 percent of Democrats support Lieberman, who lost the 2006 Democratic primary and was reelected as an independent, largely with the support of Connecticut’s unaffiliated and Republican voters.

Since returning to Congress, Lieberman continues to caucus with Democrats who need his support to hold a majority in the Senate. But he bucks party leadership by supporting the Iraq war and has campaigned for McCain over the presumptive Democratic nominee, Barack Obama.

“Senator Lieberman will continue to work across party lines to do what he believes is right for Connecticut and the nation rather than be guided by poll numbers,” said Marshall Wittmann, a Lieberman spokesman.

Connecticut’s senior senator, Democrat Christopher Dodd, also saw his disapproval rating climb following his failed presidential campaign and controversy over special rates he received on two refinanced mortgages from Countrywide Financial Corp. Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, reportedly received a VIP rate from Countrywide, a leading subprime lender at the center of the nation’s mortgage meltdown.

Dodd says he did nothing improper.

While Dodd’s approval rating of 51 percent is identical to a March 27 poll, the percentage of voters who disapprove of how he’s handling his job has climbed from 28 to 34 percent.

“Senator Christopher Dodd’s job approval is lukewarm at best, especially given his 28 years of service in the US Senate, the longest in Connecticut history,” said Poll Director Douglas Schwartz. “This is probably a combination of his unsuccessful presidential bid and the mortgage scandal.”

A Dodd spokesman declined to comment on the poll.

Governor M. Jodi Rell’s popularity is also slipping as the economy worsens.

Sixty-five percent of voters approve of the job the Republican governor is doing. That is down from a 76 percent approval rating in a March 27 poll.

Schwartz said most politicians would love a 65 percent approval rating, but for Rell, it marks her lowest rating ever.

Her popularity is fading with some Democrats and others who believe the economy is in trouble, he said.

“It was just a matter of time really before she came down to Earth,” said Schwartz.

Rell’s dip in the polls comes as 60 percent of state voters say they are worse off than they were a year ago. Also, 70 percent of voters say the state’s economy is “not so good” or “poor.”

“It’s not uncommon for elected leaders to see their numbers change when there’s an economic problem,” said Chris Cooper, a Rell spokesman.

He said the governor is taking steps to cut spending and try to keep the state’s budget situation stable.

Quinnipiac surveyed 2,515 registered voters between June 26 and 29, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.