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Do you think you might change your mind about the best candidate for governor between now and Nov. 6?
- Yes
- No
- Undecided
Election Day is Nov. 6 for the seat being vacated by two-term Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
Democrat Ned Lamont, a cable TV entrepreneur from Greenwich, holds a 47 to 39 percent lead over Republican Bob Stefanowski, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday, Oct. 10. About 11 percent of Connecticut's likely voters said they favor independent third-party candidate Richard "Oz" Griebel of Hartford.
Nutmeg State spoiler alert: About one-fifth of likely voters who chose a favorite candidate said they might change their mind between now and Election Day. And the poll's 5 percentage point margin of error could render the race a virtual tossup between Lamont and Stefanowski.
Among female poll respondents, Lamont held a wopping 22-percentage point lead over Stefanowski, a successful corporate executive from Madison. According to the Quinnipiac University poll, women back Lamont over Stefanowski by 53 to 31 percent, with 13 percent supporting Griebel.
Men favor Stefanowski by 46 to 41 percent, with about 9 percent backing Griebel.
Connecticut likely voters don't like their candidates very much, giving Lamont a divided 44 to 45 percent favorability rating and Stefanowski a slightly negative 39 to 44 percent rating. For Griebel, 72 percent of respondents said they hadn't heard enough about him to form an opinion.
"Ned Lamont is ahead in the Connecticut governor's race, but with 27 days to go, Bob Stefanowski is within striking distance," said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz.
"The number one issue for Connecticut voters is the economy, and Lamont wins decisively among those voters. Voters also say, however, that the most important quality in a candidate for governor is the ability to bring needed change, and among those voters, Stefanowski wins big," Schwartz said in a press statement.
Supporting a candidate who shares their opinion of President Donald Trump is important to 65 percent of likely voters, 78 percent of Democrats, 58 percent of Republicans and 61 percent of independent voters. Only 35 percent of voters say it's important to their vote if a candidate shares their opinion of outgoing Gov. Malloy, who recently accepted a spring 2019 visiting professor job at Boston College Law School, as reported here by Daily Voice.
Connecticut likely voters said they disapprove, by a 59 to 39 percent margin, of the way Trump, a Republican, is doing his job. Likely voters also said they disapprove, by a wider 69 to 23 percent margin, of the job Malloy, a Democrat, is doing, the poll found.
"In deciding which candidate to support, President Donald Trump is a more important factor for voters than Gov. Dannel Malloy, although both men appear to be doing damage to their own parties," Schwartz said.
From Oct. 3 through Monday, Oct 8, Quinnipiac University surveyed 767 Connecticut likely voters. The poll had a margin of error of plus/minus five percentage points.
Lamont and Stefanowski have agreed to two final televised debates on Oct. 18 and an Oct. 30.
Daily Voice coverage of the most recent debate, on Sept. 26 -- the only televised debate that included three candidates -- can be found by clicking here.
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