With 27 days until Election Day, a new Quinnipiac University Poll has Democrat Ned Lamont leading Republican Bob Stefanowski among likely voters, 47 percent to 39. Third-party candidate Oz Griebel is at 11 percent.
Lamont’s lead is largely due to his support among women, where he has a 22-point advantage over Stefanowski. Men prefer the Republican candidate by 5 percentage points.
But whoever is elected won’t enjoy high favorability ratings to start his term. Just 39 percent of likely voters view Stefanowski favorably, with Lamont at 44.
The biggest hurdle for Griebel in the polls is that 72 percent don’t know enough about him to have an opinion.
But Griebel may be ensured an invitation to the remaining debates. Each debate host chooses the criteria for which candidates are invited, which often includes polling numbers. Griebel was left out of a debate last month, because he did not reach the 10 percent threshold in a previous Quinnipiac Poll.
Despite Lamont’s 8-point lead, Quinnipiac University’s poll director Doug Schwartz said Stefanowski “is within striking distance.” More than 20 percent of likely voters say they may still change their mind before casting a ballot next month, and the margin of error in this poll is +/- 5 points.
The top issue among Connecticut voters is the economy, followed by taxes, government spending, and education. Even though highway tolls have been a contested issue on the debate stage, just 3 percent of voters say transportation is their top issue.
Both major party candidates are running in the shadow of unpopular officials currently in office. Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy has a 23 percent approval rating and Republican President Donald Trump is at 39 percent. So it’s no surprise that the most important quality voters look for in a candidate is the ability to bring change.
Elsewhere on the ballot, incumbent Democratic Senator Chris Murphy leads Republican Matthew Corey, 57 percent to 42.
