HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - A new poll shows Gov. Dannel Malloy is tied with a familiar Republican opponent, Tom Foley, who narrowly lost to Malloy in 2010.
Malloy is deadlocked with Foley at 43 percent a piece for each candidate, according to a May 9 Quinnipiac University poll.
"It's deja-vu all over again as Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy and 2010 Republican standard-bearer Tom Foley remain locked in a dead heat," said Dr. Douglas Schwartz, director of the Quinnipiac poll.
As far as favorability rating goes, Malloy gets a divided 46 - 45 percent. Foley's favorability is 36 - 23 percent, with 39 percent who don't know enough about him to form an opinion, the poll shows.
The poll shows 13 percent of voters who approve of the job Malloy is doing cite his good job as governor and 9 percent list the state budget or finances.
Only 21 percent of voters say they are personally better off than they were four years ago, while 30 percent say they are worse off and 48 percent say they are about the same.
The $1.5 billion tax hike Malloy signed three years ago to close the budget deficit hurt the state economy, 32 percent of voters say, while 21 percent say it helped and 39 percent say it made no difference, the poll states.
By a margin of 38 - 55 percent, voters approve of Malloy's handling of the economy.
"Economic issues are dragging Gov. Malloy down," Schwartz said. "A bright spot for Malloy is that voters think he has strong leadership qualities and is honest and trustworthy."
Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,668 registered voters From May 1 - 6.
From Legal Newsline: Reach David Yates at elections@legalnewsline.com.
Connecticut governor tied with Republican challenger, new poll shows
