More than 50 percent of voters questioned in a recent Public Policy Polling (PPP) poll said they would vote for former Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley over Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy if they could have a do-over.
“It’s the first state where we’ve found serious buyer’s remorse about a Democratic Governor,” according to Tom Jensen, the poll director, who posted the results Thursday.
Fifty-two percent of voters polled said they would vote for Foley, while only 41 percent said they would vote for Malloy.
According to the poll, only 36 percent of voters approve of Malloy’s performance as governor, while 52 percent disapprove.
Jensen said that makes Malloy the most unpopular Democratic governor in any state PPP has polled this year.
Only 36 percent of independents approve of Malloy, compared to 55 percent who disapprove.
Even in his Democratic base, Jensen said, Malloy has only 49 percent support, with 37 percent disapproving of his performance.
“It’s rare to find a major politician under 50 percent approval within their own party,” Jensen said. “Last year we found 20 percent of Democrats planning to vote for Foley the week before the election – now 28 percent do. Malloy has plenty of time to get back on the right track but for now his position is pretty bad.”
Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal was found to be second-most popular among the 16 first-year Senators, with an approval margin of 18 points (52 percent approving to 34 percent disapproving). That puts him behind only West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin.
His fellow Senator, Independent Joe Lieberman, is feeling a “retirement bounce,” according to Jensen. Lieberman plans to step aside from his position when his term ends next November. His net approval rating approved 19 points since last March. Lieberman has a 39 percent approval rating, but despite the bump, he still ranks as the fourth-most unpopular Senator polled this year, behind only John McCain, Ben Nelson and Mitch McConnell.
“But it’s an improvement from being the least popular Senator in the country, which was the designation he held previously,” Jensen said.
Rep. Chris Murphy (D-5) is the most popular of the state’s Congressional delegation, with a +7 spread. In a poll released earlier this week, Murphy was shown to be leading the way in the race for Lieberman’s Senate seat, ahead of former Congressman Christopher Shays, a Republican, and other candidates, Linda McMahon (R), Susan Bysiewicz (D) and William Tong (D).
Rosa DeLauro (D-3) is second in the delegation with a +4 rating. Rep. Jim Himes (D-4) has just a one-point net approval rating.