Two new polls of gubernatorial candidates found Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont leading Republican Bob Stefanowski by 15 points and 18 points, respectively, with little more than two weeks before the election.
A Quinnipiac University poll found Lamont up 15 points over Stefanowski, which is essentially unchanged from a September 21 poll when Lamont led Stefanowski 57 – 40%.
“Governor Lamont appears to be in a stronger position facing Republican challenger Bob Stefanowski than he was back in 2018 when they were locked in a tight race. Then, Lamont won by 3 points. This time around, he’s looking at a double-digit lead and the first gubernatorial race since 2006 that hasn’t been close,” Quinnipiac University Poll Director Doug Schwartz said.
Another poll conducted by SurveyUSA and paid for by Education Reform Now Advocacy CT says in a three-way contest Lamont receives 52% of the vote to Stefanowski’s 34%. Rob Hotaling the Independent Party candidate receives 4% and 10% of voters are still undecided.
It’s women who continue to put Lamont over the top in both polls.
Women support Lamont 64 – 33%. Among men, 51% support Stefanowski, while 46% support Lamont.
In the DFER poll, Lamont leads by 35 points among women and by a nominal single point among men. Lamont leads by 30 points among the oldest and typically most reliable voters, by 23 points among voters 35 to 49, and by 10 and 11 points among 50 to 64 year-olds and 18 to 34 year-olds, respectively.
Asked by Quinnipiac to choose the most urgent issue facing Connecticut today, inflation (37%) ranks by far as the top issue among likely voters followed by taxes (13%). Among Republicans, inflation (56%) ranks first followed by taxes (15%) and crime (11%). Among Democrats, inflation (24%) ranks first followed by abortion (14%) and climate change (13%). Among independents, inflation (41%) ranks first followed by taxes (16%).
The DFER poll also found that Lamont and Stefanowski are effectively tied among the 29% of voters most focused on jobs and the economy; Lamont leads by 82 points among the 10% who say gun safety is the most important issue, by 76 points among the 7% most focused on health care.
SurveyUSA interviewed a total of 1,050 Connecticut adults online October 15-22 and Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,879 Connecticut likely voters from October 19 – 23.
