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A Quinnipiac University Poll gives Republican Senate candidate Linda McMahon a slight edge over Democrat Chris Murphy in a race that is still too close to call. As WNPR's Jeff Cohen reports, the poll shows that voters like McMahon more now than when she lost the race for senate in 2010.
Both former wrestling executive McMahon and Congressman Murphy easily won their party primaries earlier this month and set their eyes on November. According to poll director Douglas Schwartz, McMahon leads Murphy 49 percent to 46 percent among likely voters. Of them, independent voters also prefer McMahon 55 percent to 40 percent. And, there's this: McMahon's favorability numbers are improving, men like her more than they like Murphy, and women think better of her than they have.
"It appears that her efforts to reintroduce herself are working. In particular, she's been doing a lot of advertising on t.v., presenting a softer image of herself and that appears to be working."
Schwartz says the poll results are a surprise because they buck the conventional wisdom that Connecticut is an overwhelmingly Democratic state. Making matters worse for Murphy is this -- the same poll shows President Barack Obama with a lead over Republican Mitt Romney, but not a big one.
"It should be a concern because I'm sure the Murphy campaign is hoping to ride in on President Obama's coattails and, right now, those coattails are pretty short."
Here's an interesting tidbit -- 20 percent of the people who picked a candidate in the poll said they could still change their minds.
"I'd be watching to see who's able to define Murphy first. That will be really important here. If McMahon continues to spend and define him in a negative way, he'll be in more trouble."
Murphy clearly senses some trouble now. In a fundraising email blast sent to supporters after the poll dropped, he said he needs money to fight back against what he called McMahon's misleading attack ads in order to win.
For WNPR, I'm Jeff Cohen.
