Just hours before Democrat Richard Blumenthal and Republican Linda McMahon are set to square off in a debate, a new poll shows the race is not as close as last week's Quinnipiac survey found.
The poll, conducted by Merriman River Group, has Blumenthal at 52.4 percent and McMahon at 44.7 percent. It was commissioned by CT Capitol Report, Tom Dudchik's online politcal news aggregator.
Last week's Q poll found that Blumenthal held a 3 percentage point lead.
"With a month to go, Richard Blumenthal enjoys a competitive advantage stronger than the relatively close poll numbers would suggest," says the poll's executive director Matthew Fitch, in a press release. "He has crossed the 50% threshold, and his supporters appear committed, with 87.5% of them saying they will definitely vote for him. Linda McMahon has run a strong campaign, and also enjoys a strong commitment from her supporters, with 83% of her followers saying they will definitely vote for her.
"Because the two candidates represent such a clear choice from each other, there is an usually low number of undecided voters in this race with four weeks to go. Although there is no incumbent, McMahon is clearly perceived as the challenger. Unlike most
challengers, however, she enjoys better than equal footing in name recognition and financing. While most successful challengers peak in the last days of the election, she may have already reached her peak with limited potential for further upside.''