Democrat Richard Blumenthal leads Republican Leora Levy by a margin of 53 percent to 40 percent in the race for a U.S. Senate seat from Connecticut, according to a poll sponsored by CT Insider and Channel 3 Eyewitness News in Hartford and conducted by the Western New England University Polling Institute.
The poll of 626 likely voters, conducted Sept. 15-21, also found that 46 percent of likely voters have a favorable view of Blumenthal, while 42 percent have an unfavorable view. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
The survey indicated that Blumenthal, an incumbent seeking his third term in the Senate after having served as the state's attorney general for 20 years, is far better known than his opponent. Thirty-six percent of likely voters said that haven't heard of Levy, a Republican National Committee member who is making her first run for elected office. Another 21 percent who said they had heard of Levy said they have no opinion of her. Even among Republican likely voters, 30 percent said they haven't heard of Levy, and another 12 percent said they have no opinion of her. Among all likely voters, 18 percent had a favorable view of Levy and 23 percent had an unfavorable view.
"As the campaign heads into the final six weeks, Leora Levy’s top priority has to be building her profile among voters," said Tim Vercellotti, professor of political science and director of the Polling Institute at Western New England University. "With the electorate almost evenly divided over Blumenthal’s favorability, Levy could gain some ground if she becomes better known."
Voters divided along traditional lines in the survey, with 88 percent of Democratic likely voters saying they would vote for Blumenthal and 85 percent of Republican likely voters indicating they would vote for Levy. Unaffiliated likely voters were evenly divided, with 45 percent saying they would vote for Blumenthal and 45 percent backing Levy.
Levy has a slight edge over Blumenthal among male likely voters, 47 percent to 44 percent. Blumenthal, however, holds a two to one lead over Levy among female likely voters, 62 percent to 32 percent. Blumenthal also leads Levy across all age groups but one – likely voters ages 55 to 64, where he trails Levy 50 percent to 43 percent.
The survey also found that Blumenthal's support increases with levels of education. Among likely voters with a high school diploma or less, Blumenthal trails Levy 49 percent to 43 percent. Likely voters with some college experience prefer Blumenthal to Levy by 50 percent to 46 percent. Among voters with a college degree, Blumenthal has a sizable lead, 62 percent to 32 percent for Levy.
The Western New England University Polling Institute, established in 2005, conducts nonpartisan research on public policy issues at the local, state, and regional levels. The Institute, equipped with 23 state-of-the-art computer-assisted telephone interviewing stations, provides the University's faculty and students with valuable opportunities to design and carry out public opinion research. The Institute also conducts survey research for government agencies, news media, and nonprofit organizations.
