Dodd Falls Below 40 Percent Mark in Matchups Against GOP Contenders

Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd has slipped below 40 percent in general election matchups against three Republicans, with two of them leading Dodd and the third in a statistical tie with him, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Dec.7

Former Rep. Rob Simmons leads Dodd 48 percent to 35 percent with 7 percent preferring another candidate and 11 percent undecided. (The margin of error in this poll is 4.5 percent.)

Linda McMahon, the former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment, leads Dodd 44 percent to 38 percent with 8 percent preferring someone else and 9 percent undecided.

Economist and commentator Peter Schiff, even though a third of voters don't know enough about him to express a favorable or unfavorable opinion, leads Dodd 40 percent to 39 percent with 8 percent preferring someone else and 14 percent undecided.

Fifty-eight percent of voters view Dodd unfavorably with 39 percent in the "very" unfavorable camp.