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Hamden (WTNH) – A Quinnipiac University poll out this morning shows Republican Rob Simmons faring better than Linda McMahon in a head-to-head race against Democratic Senator Chris Dodd.

The poll also shows Dodd’s approval rating falling.

According the poll, Simmons leads Dodd right now 49-38 percent. Dodd also would fall to Tom Foley 47-40.

McMahon leads Dodd 43-41 percent, but that is within the poll’s margin of error. He is tied with Sam Caligiuri 42 percent apiece. Dodd is ahead of economist Peter Schiff 42-41 percent.

“…It appears that more than 40 percent of voters would vote for anybody but Dodd at this point,” Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz said.

In a Republican Primary, Simmons, the former 2nd District congressman, leads with 28 percent, followed by McMahon at 17 percent. 36 percent are undecided. None of the other Republicans in the race got more than 9 percent support.

The poll shows Dodd’s approval rating falling five percent from September. Voters currently disapprove of the job Dodd is doing 54 - 40 percent.

“After inching up in the polls for months, Sen. Christopher Dodd is sliding back down again on job approval,” Schwartz said. “He continues to struggle with independent voters as 60 percent disapprove of the way he is handling his job.”

The poll also found:

Dodd gets a negative 42 - 49 percent favorability from voters. Simmons gets a positive 40 - 10 percent favorability, with 49 percent who don’t know enough about him to form an opinion. For McMahon, 66 percent don’t know enough about her to form an opinion.

The poll shows people consider the economy the number one issue in the race, followed closely by health care. No other issue came close to those.

In a statement, McMahon campaign spokesman Ed Patru said they are “pleased and encouraged” with the poll’s results.

“In less than two months since Linda became a candidate for the U.S. Senate, she has risen from a virtual unknown, to a serious contender in this primary contest,” Patru said.

“It’s very clear Connecticut Republicans are becoming increasingly aware that, more than anyone else, Linda is building a campaign capable of defeating Sen. Chris Dodd’s special interest-funded campaign machinery,” he said.

Reacting to the poll, Colleen Flanagan, Communications Director for the Connecticut Democratic Party, said in a statement “In truth, we have a hard time believing Chris Dodd has done anything but strengthen his political position based on his well-publicized and heroic work on healthcare reform, tightening our country’s financial regulations and protecting consumers; coverage that contrasts starkly with the Jerry Springer-like atmosphere of the Republican Senate Primary.

“We’re not taking this poll particularly seriously, and Chris Dodd will continue to do his job every single day on behalf of the people he was elected to represent,” she said.

The poll surveyed 1,236 Connecticut registered voters between November 3rd through the 8th. It has a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points.

Full details are at Quinnipiac.edu