Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz is dropping plans to run for governor and instead will run for the attorney general office held by Richard Blumenthal as he launches a campaign for the U.S. Senate.
In a November poll by Quinnipiac University, Bysiewicz had a slight lead over Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont for the Democratic nomination for governor. Gov. M. Jodi Rell does not plan to run for reelection.
Bysiewicz”™s camp defended her eligibility to run for attorney general after a blogger noted she had been a practicing attorney in Connecticut for six years, with a state law requiring 10 years experience in order to run for the job. Her campaign argued her decade of experience as secretary of state should count toward the mandate on grounds she supervised attorneys during that period.
Former state Sen. George Jepsen of Stamford also plans to run for attorney general as a Democrat.
With Blumenthal the early favorite among voters for the U.S. Senate seat of Chris Dodd, former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons held his lead against former WWE CEO Linda McMahon for the Republican nomination, according to the latest poll by Quinnipiac University.
Simmons was the pick of 37 percent of those polled, versus 27 percent for McMahon and 4 percent for Westport businessman and financial commentator Peter Schiff.
Since the last Quinnipiac poll in mid-November, former Ireland ambassador Tom Foley of Greenwich ended his U.S. Senate campaign to seek the governor”™s office instead; and Waterbury state Sen. Sam Caligiuri has also dropped out to run for the Congressional seat of U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy.
Blumenthal led Simmons 62 percent to 27 percent, and Quinnipiac said it measured his job approval rating at 84 percent, the highest of any politician it has ever measured save for Pres. George W. Bush in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Gov. Rell had a job approval rating of 64 percent in the Quinnipiac poll, versus a 30 percent rating for the Connecticut General Assembly, where Democrats have a veto-proof majority.
Pres. Obama”™s 55 percent rating was the lowest the university has measured after a year in office.
Dodd and fellow U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman received voter approval ratings of 36 percent and 39 percent respectively.
“Sen. Lieberman has suffered the biggest drop,” said Douglas Schwartz, poll director at Quinnipiac, in a prepared statement. “Apparently, the national headlines Lieberman made during the health care debate have taken a toll on his popularity.”
Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,430 registered voters in Connecticut between Jan. 8 and Jan. 12, assigning a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points for all voters; 4.2 points for Democrats; and 5 points for Republicans.
