Good News for Blumenthal, Crist in New Polls

AP

New polls from Quinnipiac are showing some good news for Democrat Richard Blumenthal in Connecticut and Independent Charlie Crist in Florida.

In Connecticut, Blumenthal is maintaining a big lead over his Republican challenger, Linda McMahon, in the race for the Senate, despite admitting to exaggerations in his military record. The polls show that voters prefer Blumenthal to McMahon by a 55-35 margin.

But there was also some good news for McMahon, as she has made some headway in what appears to be an uphill battle.

The poll, released today, shows that while McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, may be trailing by double-digits, she managed to cut the lead down from an earlier 56-31 margin.

Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz says the dip may be a response the controversy over Blumenthal's service record.

"Three weeks after the Vietnam flap, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has lost a little more ground to Linda McMahon, but he still has a comfortable lead," said Schwartz. "Prior to the Vietnam controversy, Blumenthal led by 33 points. A week after the controversy, his lead was 25 points. Now it's down to 20 points."

But despite the drop, the poll still shows Blumenthal enjoying a comfortable 59 - 29 favorable/unfavorable rating and that 61 percent of voters say the controversy doesn't make a difference. This perhaps indicates that McMahon's gains are not solely attributed to Blumenthal's gaffe -- more good news for McMahon.

A spike in McMahon's favorability rating, from 32 percent in May to 38 percent in today's poll, and an increase in the number of voters believing that she has the right kind of experience could also be factors in her increased standing in the overall horse-race poll.

In the Florida Senate race, another Quinnipiac poll released yesterday has Republican-turned-Independent Charlie Crist edging out Republican Marco Rubio 37-33 percent and Democrat Rep. Kendrick Meek coming in at 17 percent. If Democrat Jeff Greene defeats Meek in the Democratic primary, the poll gives Crist a 40-33 edge, with Greene coming in at 14 percent.

AP Photo/Steve Cannon

"Gov. Charlie Crist leads Marco Rubio by a nose in the Senate race. Obviously there is a long time until November, but the Governor is doing very well among independent voters, almost as well among Democrats as Meek and better among Democrats than Greene," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "With Rubio getting two-thirds of the Republican vote, the fate of Gov. Crist, who switched from a Republican to independent six weeks ago, depends heavily on his ability to appeal to Democratic voters."

Crist may be helped in his bid to win over Democratic voters by both Meek and Greene being relatively unknown. While Democrats view Meek as being slightly more favorable than Greene, their overwhelming opinion is that they don't know enough about either candidate - 59 percent saying so about Meek and 64 percent saying the same about Greene.

Those who did support one over the other, however, split nearly evenly, with Meek barely leading Greene 29 percent to 27 percent among likely Democratic primary voters. But 37 percent were undecided.

In addition, Quinnipiac found a dramatic shift in public opinion toward offshore drilling. Yesterday's poll showed that Florida voters now oppose drilling 51-42, a 48-point swing from results in an April 19th survey that had voters supporting it 66-27.

"Clearly, the gulf oil spill has changed the way Floridians view offshore drilling and almost certainly is responsible for the drop in President Obama's approval rating [40 percent]," said Brown. "Voters disapprove 54 - 37 percent of the way Obama is handling the spill."

In Florida's Republican gubernatorial primary race, a Quinnipiac poll has Rick Scott, a newcomer to politics, surging ahead of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum on the heels of an aggressive multi-million dollar ad campaign introducing him to voters. The poll has Scott holding a 44-31 point lead over McCollum among likely Republican primary voters.

Interactive Map: CBS News Election 2010 Race Ratings

[cktirumalai]

In the Republican primary Charlie Crist was likely to be trounced by more right-wing Mark Rubio, the reason he switched to running as an Independent. While all elections involve the interplay between dedicated party voters and more centrist ones, the 2010 election will probably turn even more on it. Several states, including California and Nevada, have had primaries which led to the selection of Republican candidates with strong tea party backing, who in the general election may alienate more moderate voters, despite their repositioning themselves in the second phase of the electoral campaign. The usual two-step dance may produce particularly interesting variations this time around.

[thebob-bob]

But wait?? I thought America was in revolt against the Socialist takeover by Obama?? I thought Sarah Palin's army of 'real Americans' was going to sweep out all incumbents in a massive wave of populist anger? I thought the tree of liberty was going to be watered with the blood of true patriots!!

I guess it was the rightwing noise machine turned too high.

[user000049586849302948602]

I know. It's hilarious. And the Democratic Party operatives haven't even gone to work yet while the repugnitard (plain-clothes division of the KKK) thugs have yet to give it a rest from 2008.

[nolieshere]

There is also good news for Jerry Brown, Barbara Boxer, and Harry Reid. Go Teabaggers!! 2010 is going to be a great year for democrats!!

[user000049586849302948602]

Yeah man. A decisive victory after all the repugnitard hype would sure be sweet.

[nolieshere]

We're going to have a democratic senator from Kentucky too!!

[wfw3536]

How can people vote for Richard B. when he lied on more than one occassion that he served his country in the war, when he didn't. This is terrible, and someone like this has no right to be in any office. Anyone who lied about their war record when we have had so brave vets who did serve has no right to be in any office where he represents poeple of our country.

[velma179]

Then you think nobody should vote for Mark Kirk -- currently a US Congressman and the GOP candidate for Senate in Illinois?

Blumenthal was wrong to give the illusion he served IN Viet Nam, rather than DURING the Viet Nam War... but his error pales in contrast to Kirk's false revelations as well as his blatant disregard for Military protocol in politicking while in uniform!

Goose.. okay. Then Gander has to go also.

[pasmalltown]

Look at who he's running against and maybe you can understand that maybe, just maybe he is the lesser of two evils and the people of CT are smart enough to understand it......... Does Linda McMahon have what it takes to represent her state, I mean other than one year and three months worth of experience on the Connecticut Board of Education?????
She's an entertainer not a legislator unless you want to count this: "Under McMahon's tenure, WWE became one of the largest recipients of special tax credits for film and TV production granted by the State of Connecticut.".....................

[Scatterthevultures]

Charlie Crist is a man that can work with people.
People is what when have in Florida. They outnumber charlatans and thiefs.

[velma179]

If I lived in Florida, I would be very comfortable having Crist as my Representative in the US Senate.