Blumenthal Holds Huge Leads Over GOP Contenders for Dodd's Seat

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who stepped into the state's U.S. Senate race after Christopher Dodd stepped out, has huge leads over all three of the Republicans contending for their party's nomination, according to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted Jan. 8-12.

Blumenthal, a Democrat, leads former Rep. Rob Simmons 62 percent to 27 percent with 10 percent undecided. He leads Linda McMahon, the former World Wrestling Entertainment chief, by 64 percent to 23 percent with 11 percent undecided. He bests economist and commentator Peter Schiff by 66 percent to 19 percent with 14 percent undecided.

While Blumenthal enjoys support among fellow Democrats in the area of 90 percent in each match-up, none of the Republicans command more than 63 percent support from their own party. Independents favor Blumenthal by margins of 2-to-1 or more.

As far as the GOP primary contest, Simmons is on top with 37 percent to McMahon's 27 percent, with Schiff at 4 percent. But 28 percent of Republicans are still undecided, and McMahon has vowed to dip into her own pocket to pour millions into the race.

"Rob Simmons must be wondering what happened. In September, prior to McMahon's entry, he was the clear frontrunner for the nomination. He was at 43 percent and no other Republican was in double digits," said Quinnipiac's Douglas Schwartz. "He also was ahead of Dodd. Now, Simmons is in a real Republican primary race with Linda McMahon and gets destroyed by Blumenthal."

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