Connecticut Senate Race: Yet Another Obama Referendum?

Connecticut Senate Race: Yet Another Obama Referendum? Wall Street Journal

When Connecticut Republican Linda McMahon won her party's senate primary on August 10, Democrats seemed almost overjoyed. Mrs. McMahon is not only a political neophyte but also the former manager of World Wrestling Entertainment. On paper she looks like an easy opponent in staid and very blue Connecticut.


Six weeks later things don't look so clear cut.


A recent Quinnipiac poll shows Ms. McMahon closing in on Democrat Richard Blumenthal, whittling down what had been a 25-point Blumenthal lead to just six points. Her rise obviously has something to do with the $30 million she has shoveled into her campaign. Even so, voters continue to have a largely positive view of Mr. Blumenthal, the state's longtime attorney general -- his approval rating stands at 55%. What explains Ms. McMahon's increasing competitiveness in the race?


Quinnipiac's polling director Douglas Schwartz attributes the McMahon surge to growing voter distrust of the Obama administration even in blue Connecticut, where a solid majority of voters now say Washington is doing "too much." "President Barack Obama appears to be a drag on Blumenthal," says Mr. Schwartz.


Read the rest of the WSJ article here.