It looks like he has the making of a coalition. Can he keep it and expand on it until election day, or will he lose it? Rasmussen reports:
Senator Joe Lieberman’s decision to run as an Independent sets up a lively campaign season for Connecticut voters. In the first General Election poll since Ned Lamont defeated Lieberman in Tuesday’s primary, the incumbent is hanging on to a five percentage point lead. Lieberman earns support from 46% of Connecticut voters while Lamont is the choice of 41% (see crosstabs).
A month ago, the candidates were tied at 40% each.
Republican Alan Schlesinger earns just 6% of the vote, down from 13% a month ago.
The details show some of the tasks confronting Lamont in this nationally watched race (favorable ratings; Lieberman scoring well among moderate voters). MORE:
Lieberman still attracts 35% of votes from Democrats. Lamont will have to find a way to trim that number without alienating unaffiliated voters. Lieberman is viewed at least somewhat favorably by 65% of unaffiliated voters compared to 49% for Lamont.
So Schlesinger is tanking and some of his prospective voters are going towards Lieberman. The ultimate winner will be whoever can keep their basic positions intact but generate wider appeal — without the opponent picking up those voters. Given the closeness of this poll, it means the Connecticut race will remain one of the most fascinating to watch.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.