A new survey of Connecticut by Public Policy Polling (D), commissioned by Daily Kos, shows Democrats starting out heavily favored to keep the open seat of retiring Dem-aligned independent Sen. Joe Lieberman, with the two candidates Chris Murphy and Susan Bysiewicz starting out in a close primary.
Murphy, a three-term Congressman, and Bysiewicz, a former Connecticut Secretary of State, are in a statistical dead heat at 40% for Murphy, to 38% for Bysiewicz. The survey of likely Democratic primary voters has a ±4.9% margin of error, and the primary is a long way off — in August 2012.
In a wider sample of registered voters for the general election, Murphy and Bysiewicz both lead all five possible Republican opponents, none of whom are officially in the race: 2010 nominee and former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon, 2010 candidate and former Rep. Rob Simmons, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, former Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele, and state Sen. Scott Frantz.
