Blumenthal Continues To Lead McMahon

In Latest Poll

HAMDEN — Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the Democrat, tops Republican wrestling executive Linda McMahon 54-37 percent in the US Senate race, and leads her on every voter measure, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released July 16.

This compares to a 55-35 percent Mr Blumenthal lead in a June 10 survey by the independent Quinnipiac University.

In the latest survey, Mr Blumenthal leads 84-11 percent among Democrats and 54-35 percent among independent voters, while Republicans back Ms McMahon 77-15 percent.

Ms McMahon leads the contest for the August 10 Republican primary with 52 percent of likely voters, followed by 25 percent for Rob Simmons and 13 percent for Peter Schiff. This is the first survey of likely primary voters and cannot be compared with earlier surveys of registered voters.

Mr Blumenthal wins possible general election match-ups, 55-35 percent over Simmons and 58-31 percent over Schiff.

“Connecticut voters still trust Attorney General Richard Mr Blumenthal despite the Vietnam controversy. While Mr Blumenthal remains very popular, Linda McMahon’s favorability numbers are only slightly positive,” said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, PhD.

“Ms McMahon, however, has the momentum, even if the latest movement is only a small three-point change. She is inching up on Blumenthal. In January, she trailed Mr Blumenthal by 41 points. In every subsequent poll she has cut into his lead and now has cut that lead by more than 24 points.

“She still has a long way to go, but she has a lot of time and a lot of money,” he added.

Connecticut voters approve 72-21 percent of the job Mr Blumenthal is doing, continuing his string of plus-70 approval ratings. By a 60-28 percent margin, they have a favorable opinion of him. Ms McMahon gets a 43-37 percent favorability.

Looking at Mr Blumenthal and Ms McMahon on other measures, voters say:

*65-24 percent that Mr Blumenthal has the right kind of experience to be a US Senator;

*49-38 percent that Ms McMahon does not have the right kind of experience;

*67-24 percent that he cares about their needs and problems;

*50-34 percent that she cares about their needs and problems;

*60-28 percent that he is honest and trustworthy;

*47-28 percent that she is honest and trustworthy;

*71-19 percent that he has strong leadership qualities;

*61-26 percent that she has strong leadership qualities.

“Linda McMahon’s biggest problem with voters is that only 38 percent think she has the right kind of experience to be a US Senator, which tracks very closely with the percentage of the vote she gets against Blumenthal,” Dr Schwartz said. “She has improved her experience number slightly, but she must do more to convince Connecticut voters that her background as an executive in professional wrestling is the right kind of experience.”

From July 7 to 13, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,367 Connecticut registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points. Also from July 7 to 13, Quinnipiac University conducted a separate survey of 854 Connecticut likely Republican primary voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points. These likely voters were selected from lists of people who have voted in past elections.

The Quinnipiac University Poll conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, and the nation as a public service and for research.

For more data or RSS feed, www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml; call 203-582-5201.