An internal poll conducted earlier this month by former World Wrestling Entertainment Executive Linda McMahon’s campaign shows her trailing Attorney General Richard Blumenthal by 13 points.
So while she may be behind, the poll shows a much closer race than public polls, which show McMahon trailing Blumenthal by more than 20 points.
A Rasmussen poll in late May showed Blumenthal leading by 23 points while a Quinnipiac University poll showed Blumenthal ahead by 25 points.
“This is a close race,” Ed Patru, McMahon’s communications director, said Wednesday.
Blumenthal’s own internal poll, taken shortly after the coverage of his comments regarding his service during the Vietnam War, showed him with a 15-point lead over McMahon.
McMahon’s internal poll was conducted June 1-3 by Moore Information and showed Blumenthal taking her 51 to 38 percent in the general election.
“Whether Linda McMahon is down 13 points or 25 points as independent polling has found, the real number that Linda McMahon should be worried about is the $16 million she has spent that has only made the people of Connecticut like her less,” Mindy Myers, Blumenthal’s campaign manager, said Wednesday.
McMahon’s campaign fired right back.
“I can appreciate the effort to spin this, but I think Mindy is trying to make a gourmet pie out of a pile of mud on this one,” Patru said. “Dick Blumenthal is 26-year career politician who is barely above 50 percent and he’s running in a year when voters are in a bad mood and looking for something different. Regardless of what they’re saying, they are worried. And they should be.”
The poll, released to just two reporters Tuesday, also tested each candidates favorability and showed that 41 percent of voters had a favorable view of her while 32 percent had an unfavorable view. The poll showed Blumenthal with a 55 percent favorable and 32 percent unfavorable rating.
That’s a stark contrast to the candidates favorability ratings in the last Quinnipiac University poll, which showed Blumenthal with 61 – 29 percent favorability, compared to a negative 32 – 39 percent favorability for McMahon.
Another Quinnipiac University poll will be released Thursday morning.
