Search

(WTNH) – A Quinnipiac University poll shows Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz leading her Democratic challengers in the race for governor, including recently announced candidate Ned Lamont.

“Ned Lamont made headlines last week by announcing his exploratory committee, but Bysiewicz is the stronger general election candidate,” Quinnipiac poll director Douglas Schwartz said is a statement. “In the primary Lamont and Bysiewicz are at the top, but Lamont’s money gives him a big advantage.”

The poll, taken shortly before Gov. Jodi Rell announced she would not run for re-election, showed Rell polling ahead of every Democrat. Her closest challenger would have been Bysiewicz, but Rell was ahead of her by six percentage points.

In the Democratic primary, Bysiewicz leads Lamont 26% to 23%. Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy was next with 9%. The other Democrats in the race polled at under three percent.

Outside of Bysiewicz and Lamont, 67 percent to 92 percent of voters said they don’t know enough about the other Democratic contenders to form an opinion.

The Quinnipiac poll found Rell rebounding from a slump in her approval following the budget mess earlier in the year, with a 64% approval rating.

“We saw her dropping through the summer and now she is starting back up. If this trend continues, she will be hard to beat,” Schwartz said. That was before Rell’s announcement she would not run.

The QU poll, taken November 3rd-8th, surveyed 1,236 registered voters and has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points. The survey includes 474 Democrats with a margin of error of +/- 4.5 percentage points, the university said.

Full details at http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1296.xml?ReleaseID=1393