Lamont Leads Stefanowski By Large Lead In Governor Race: Emerson Poll

CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont led Republican challenger Bob Stefanowski by a sizeable margin in the latest Emerson College and WTNH poll.

Lamont led Stefanowski 49 percent to 38 percent, with a +/- 3 percentage point margin of error. Another 9 percent of voters were undecided and 4 percent supported someone else.

The survey also found that likely voters believe Lamont is more trustworthy (57 percent) than Stefanowski at 43 percent.

Lamont also has better favorability among likely voters, according to the poll, with 55 percent of voters holding a very or somewhat favorable view of the incumbent. Challenger Stefanowski came in lower at 45 percent.

Stefanowski pointed to the poll's results as proof that the race is tightening, according to CT Insider. He cited high taxes, crime and parental rights as major campaign issues. Lamont led by a 13 percentage points in the May Emerson poll. A Lamont campaign spokesman said the poll is a snapshot in time, and the only poll that matters is the one where voters cast their ballots.

Political action committees have poured millions of dollars into the Connecticut governor race. The Democratic Governors Association doled out $2.75 million to a PA, according to the CT Mirror. The Republican Governors Association spent $1.5 million and the CT Truth PAC has spent $1.6 million against Lamont.

The candidates themselves have also funded or loaned their campaigns millions of dollars. Lamont’s campaign, which is largely self-funded, spent $6.3 million as of July 1, according to the Hartford Courant. Stefanowski’s campaign spent $4.2 million.

Lamont held a narrower 51-43 (+/- 2.4 percentage point margin of error) lead to Stefanowski in a May Quinnipiac University poll.

The Emerson poll was conducted between Sept. 7-9 with a sample of 1,000 somewhat or very likely voters. Data sets were weighted based on turnout modeling for gender, age, education, party affiliation and race/ethnicity. The poll was conducted with an automated system that reached landlines, cellphones and an online panel.