January 21, 2010 - Lamont Has Early Name Edge In Connecticut Gov Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Bysiewicz Tops Dems In Attorney General Race Word format With an edge in name recognition, Connecticut businessman and former U.S. Senate candidate Ned Lamont leads the pack in the Democratic primary race for Governor, where almost half of the voters remain undecided, and has small leads over Republican contenders, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. While 44 percent of Democrats remain undecided, Lamont gets 27 percent, followed by Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy with 11 percent. No other Democrat tops 5 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. On the Republican side, 59 percent are undecided, with 17 percent for former ambassador Tom Foley and 8 percent for Lt. Gov. Mike Fedele. No other Republican tops 6 percent. In possible general election matchups: Lamont edges Foley 38 - 36 percent; Lamont tops Fedele 41 - 32 percent; Malloy beats Foley 37 - 33 percent; Malloy leads Fedele 37 - 31 percent. Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz tops the Democratic pack for State Attorney General with 62 percent, with 10 percent for former Democratic State Chairman George Jepson and 24 percent undecided. "The big winner in the primaries for Governor is 'Undecided.' With most of the candidates largely unknown, voters aren't expressing a preference in the gubernatorial primaries yet," said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, PhD. "On the Democratic side, Ned Lamont has taken the 'lead' with the exit of Susan Bysiewicz, but much of that is due to his greater name recognition. Malloy is within striking range and it is possible for a lesser known candidate to emerge." "Two Greenwich millionaires - Foley and Lamont - are leading the pack for the nomination for Governor. At a time when a lot of Connecticut families are hurting because of the tough economy, how will that play?" Dr. Schwartz asked. By a 49 - 14 percent margin, Connecticut voters have a favorable opinion of Bysiewicz, with 36 percent who don't know enough about her to form an opinion. Lamont gets a 35 - 21 percent favorability, as 42 percent don't know enough about him to form an opinion. The "don't know enough" number for other candidates for Governor or Attorney General ranges from 59 percent to 96 percent. "Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz has to feel good about her poll numbers. Despite the controversy over whether she has been in 'active practice' as an attorney for 10 years, which broke as the poll was in the field, she is the clear favorite over the virtually unknown George Jepsen in the Democratic primary. And her favorability numbers have remained high. But if this story doesn't go away, this could change," Schwartz said. School Bus Seat Belts Connecticut voters support 73 - 20 percent proposed legislation to require seat belts on school buses in the state. Parents of public school students support the measure 73 - 22 percent. Women back it 79 - 14 percent while men support it 66 - 27 percent. There is strong support across party lines and in every area of the state. From January 14 - 19, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,594 Connecticut registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points. The survey includes 593 Democrats with a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points and 420 Republicans with a margin of error of +/- 4.8 percentage points. The Quinnipiac University Poll conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 1. (If registered Democrat) If the Democratic primary for Governor were being held today and the candidates were Ned Lamont, Dan Malloy, Mary Glassman, Gary LeBeau, Rudy Marconi, Jim Amann and Juan Figueroa, for whom would you vote? REGISTERED DEMS.. Tot Men Wom Lamont 27% 42% 18% Malloy 11 12 11 Glassman 4 2 6 LeBeau 2 2 1 Marconi 1 1 - Amann 5 7 4 Figueroa 1 - 1 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 4 2 5 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 1 2 DK/NA 44 31 51 TREND: (If registered Democrat) If the Democratic primary for Governor were being held today and the candidates were Ned Lamont, Dan Malloy, Mary Glassman, Gary LeBeau, Rudy Marconi, Jim Amann and Juan Figueroa, for whom would you vote? REGISTERED DEMS....... Jan 21 Nov 10 Feb 10 2010 2009 2009 Lamont 27 23 na Malloy 11 9 12 Glassman 4 na na LeBeau 2 2 na Marconi 1 1 na Amann 5 3 4 Figueroa 1 na na Bysiewicz na 26 44 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 4 1 3 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 2 2 DK/NA 44 33 36 2. (If registered Democrat) If the Democratic primary for State Attorney General were being held today and the candidates were Susan Bysiewicz, George Jepsen and Michael Jarjura, for whom would you vote? REGISTERED DEMS.. Tot Men Wom Bysiewicz 62% 59% 64% Jepsen 10 17 5 Jarjura 3 4 3 SMONE ELSE(VOL) - 1 - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) - 1 - DK/NA 24 18 28 3. (If registered Republican) If the Republican primary for Governor were being held today and the candidates were Tom Foley, Mike Fedele, Oz Griebel, Mark Boughton and Larry DeNardis, for whom would you vote? REGISTERED REPS.. Tot Men Wom Foley 17% 18% 15% Fedele 8 7 10 Griebel 2 3 - Boughton 6 7 6 DeNardis 4 5 4 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 3 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 2 1 DK/NA 59 56 62 4. If the 2010 election for Governor were being held today, and the candidates were Ned Lamont the Democrat and Tom Foley the Republican, for whom would you vote? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Lamont 38% 9% 74% 30% 36% 40% Foley 36 77 10 37 44 30 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 1 2 2 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 2 1 3 2 3 DK/NA 21 11 14 28 17 25 5. If the 2010 election for Governor were being held today, and the candidates were Dan Malloy the Democrat and Tom Foley the Republican, for whom would you vote? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Malloy 37% 9% 73% 27% 33% 40% Foley 33 76 8 31 41 27 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 2 1 3 3 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 3 1 5 4 3 DK/NA 24 10 16 34 19 28 6. If the 2010 election for Governor were being held today, and the candidates were Ned Lamont the Democrat and Mike Fedele the Republican, for whom would you vote? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Lamont 41% 11% 75% 35% 38% 43% Fedele 32 72 9 28 39 25 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 1 3 2 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 2 - 4 3 3 DK/NA 23 14 16 31 19 27 7. If the 2010 election for Governor were being held today, and the candidates were Dan Malloy the Democrat and Mike Fedele the Republican, for whom would you vote? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Malloy 37% 8% 72% 31% 34% 41% Fedele 31 71 8 27 37 24 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 1 3 2 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 2 1 5 3 3 DK/NA 27 17 19 34 24 29 8. Is your opinion of - Jim Amann favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 11% 10% 16% 9% 11% 11% Unfavorable 8 6 7 12 12 5 Hvn't hrd enough 79 84 76 78 75 83 REFUSED 1 1 - 1 1 1 TREND: Is your opinion of - Jim Amann favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Jan 21 Nov 10 Feb 10 2010 2009 2009 Favorable 11 7 7 Unfavorable 8 8 13 Hvn't hrd enough 79 84 79 REFUSED 1 1 1 9. Is your opinion of - Dan Malloy favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 32% 22% 46% 29% 35% 30% Unfavorable 7 13 3 8 9 6 Hvn't hrd enough 59 63 49 62 55 62 REFUSED 2 1 1 2 2 1 TREND: Is your opinion of - Dan Malloy favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Jan 21 Nov 10 Feb 10 2010 2009 2009 Favorable 32 21 19 Unfavorable 7 10 11 Hvn't hrd enough 59 67 69 REFUSED 2 2 1 10. Is your opinion of - Ned Lamont favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 35% 18% 54% 33% 38% 33% Unfavorable 21 37 9 23 26 18 Hvn't hrd enough 42 44 37 41 34 48 REFUSED 2 1 - 3 2 1 TREND: Is your opinion of - Ned Lamont favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Jan 21 Nov 10 2010 2009 Favorable 35 31 Unfavorable 21 24 Hvn't hrd enough 42 43 REFUSED 2 1 11. Is your opinion of - Gary LeBeau favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 4% 4% 4% 5% 4% 4% Unfavorable 2 4 2 2 4 1 Hvn't hrd enough 92 92 93 91 91 93 REFUSED 1 - 1 2 1 1 TREND: Is your opinion of - Gary LeBeau favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Jan 21 Nov 10 2010 2009 Favorable 4 4 Unfavorable 2 4 Hvn't hrd enough 92 91 REFUSED 1 1 12. Is your opinion of - Rudy Marconi favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 5% 5% 6% 4% 6% 3% Unfavorable 2 2 3 2 3 2 Hvn't hrd enough 92 93 90 93 90 94 REFUSED 1 - 1 1 - 1 TREND: Is your opinion of - Rudy Marconi favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Jan 21 Nov 10 2010 2009 Favorable 5 5 Unfavorable 2 3 Hvn't hrd enough 92 92 REFUSED 1 - 13. Is your opinion of - Mary Glassman favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about her? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 8% 7% 11% 7% 7% 8% Unfavorable 2 2 2 1 2 1 Hvn't hrd enough 90 91 86 91 90 90 REFUSED 1 1 1 1 1 1 14. Is your opinion of - Juan Figueroa favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 3% 5% 4% 2% 4% 3% Unfavorable 2 1 2 3 3 2 Hvn't hrd enough 94 93 93 94 92 95 REFUSED 1 - 1 1 1 1 15. Is your opinion of - Tom Foley favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 31% 48% 21% 31% 34% 27% Unfavorable 6 2 8 6 8 5 Hvn't hrd enough 62 50 71 61 57 67 REFUSED 1 - 1 2 1 1 TREND: Is your opinion of Tom Foley favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Jan 21 Nov 12 Sep 17 Jul 23 Apr 2 2010 2009 2009 2009 2009 Favorable 31 20 12 17 12 Unfavorable 6 6 6 5 6 Hvn't hrd enough 62 74 81 77 80 REFUSED 1 - 1 1 1 16. Is your opinion of - Mike Fedele favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 16% 28% 8% 16% 19% 13% Unfavorable 5 3 6 4 7 3 Hvn't hrd enough 78 68 86 79 73 83 REFUSED 1 1 - 1 1 1 17. Is your opinion of - Larry DeNardis favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 7% 9% 5% 7% 8% 5% Unfavorable 3 4 3 3 3 2 Hvn't hrd enough 89 87 92 89 87 91 REFUSED 1 - - 2 1 1 18. Is your opinion of - Oz Griebel favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 2% 3% 2% 1% 3% 1% Unfavorable 1 1 1 1 2 1 Hvn't hrd enough 96 96 96 95 94 97 REFUSED 1 - 1 2 1 1 19. Is your opinion of - Mark Boughton favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 7% 14% 3% 6% 10% 4% Unfavorable 2 4 1 2 2 2 Hvn't hrd enough 90 82 95 90 88 93 REFUSED 1 - - 1 - 1 20. Is your opinion of - Susan Bysiewicz favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about her? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 49% 30% 68% 47% 47% 51% Unfavorable 14 23 5 14 18 9 Hvn't hrd enough 36 46 26 37 34 38 REFUSED 1 1 - 2 1 1 TREND: Is your opinion of - Susan Bysiewicz favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about her? Jan 21 Nov 10 Feb 10 2010 2009 2009 Favorable 49 43 40 Unfavorable 14 11 12 Hvn't hrd enough 36 44 48 REFUSED 1 1 1 21. Is your opinion of - George Jepsen favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 14% 10% 18% 13% 17% 11% Unfavorable 5 7 5 5 7 4 Hvn't hrd enough 80 82 76 81 76 84 REFUSED 1 1 - 2 1 1 22. Is your opinion of - Michael Jarjura favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 13% 12% 13% 15% 14% 13% Unfavorable 7 10 7 7 10 5 Hvn't hrd enough 79 78 80 77 76 81 REFUSED 1 - 1 2 1 1 23. There is a proposal in the state legislature to require seat belts on school buses in Connecticut. Do you think that is a good idea or a bad idea? HvKids Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom PubSch Good idea 73% 64% 81% 74% 66% 79% 73% Bad idea 20 26 14 20 27 14 22 DK/NA 7 10 5 6 7 7 5