"Connecticut Republicans have gone for outsider candidates such as Linda McMahon and Tom Foley. They continue that trend with Donald Trump."
Doug Schwartz
Connecticut Democrats and Republicans vote for their party's nominee next week and a new Quinnipiac University pollshows Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump with statewide leads.
On the Democratic side, Clinton leads Bernie Sanders among likely voters 51 - 42 percent. Trump is polling at 48 percent on the Republican side. His closest rival, Ohio Governor John Kasich has 28 percent and Texas Senator Ted Cruz has 19 percent.
If Trump is able to top the 50 percent mark, he will automatically win 10 delegates. If he doesn't reach that mark, those delegates will be awarded proportionally to candidates who receive at least 20 percent of the vote.
"Connecticut Republicans have gone for outsider candidates such as Linda McMahon and Tom Foley. They continue that trend with Donald Trump," said Doug Schwartz, Quinnipiac University Poll Director. The poll found that 59 percent of Connecticut Republicans want a president without experience in politics.
On the Democratic side, there are wide gaps showing strong support for Clinton among women and black voters. But Sanders leads strongly with young voters with 73 percent support among Democrats under the age of 35.
Candidates from both parties are visiting Connecticut for public appearances. Earlier this month, Kasich held a town hall in Fairfield. Last week, Trump gave a speech at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, and Clinton is scheduled to speak in the capital city on Thursday.
Connecticut is one of five northeastern states voting on April 26. It will send 28 Republican delegates to the GOP convention in Cleveland and 70 Democratic delegates to the convention in Philadelphia.
Both parties have a closed primary system. The deadline to switch from one party to another has passed. But new voters and unaffiliated voters have until noon on April 25 to register with a party and be eligible to vote in Tuesday's primary.
