Thursday, September 18, 2008

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Barack Obama still has a solid hold on Connecticut where he leads John McCain 53% to 41% in the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state.

In August Obama led McCain 51% to 36%. A month earlier, it was a similar 52% to 35% race. (Crosstabs with demographics are available for Premium Members.)

McCain’s support among GOP voters has increased to 85%, similar to Obama’s support among Democrats. Last month, the two were virtually tied among unaffiliated voters, but Obama now has the edge.

The Democrat is viewed favorably by 61% and unfavorably by 37%, largely unchanged from last month. McCain’s numbers improved slightly, with 54% favorables and 44% unfavorables.

The first poll in Connecticut since the two men announced their running mates shows the race tightening very slightly, but voters in the state have mixed feelings about Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. They’re evenly divided over whether McCain made a good choice, but while 46% have a favorable view of her, 51% regard her unfavorably.

By comparison, 36% say Obama made a good choice in picking Joseph Biden as his running mate, while slightly more (39%) disagree. Fifty-eight percent (58%) have a favorable opinion of Biden versus 37% who view him unfavorably.

Eighty-two percent (82%) describe Palin as a conservative, while 48% see Biden as a liberal. Thirty-six percent (36%) view the Democrat as a moderate.

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McCain and Obama remain very close in both the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll and Electoral College projections.

Democrats have won Connecticut in the last four presidential elections, the last three by double digits. John Kerry defeated President Bush by 10 points in 2004.

Rasmussen Markets data shows that Democrats are currently given a % chance of winning Connecticut’s seven Electoral College votes. With release of this poll, Connecticut is “Likely Democratic” in the Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power Calculator.

Sixty-eight percent (68%) of Connecticut voters say they will be voting with enthusiasm for their presidential candidate, while 25% say they will be voting primarily against the other candidate.

Forty-eight percent (48%) say economic issues are the most important in this election, but 26% saying national security is paramount.

Governor M. Jodi Rell’s job performance is rated good or excellent by 58% of voters. Only 12% think she is doing a poor job. These numbers are virtually identical to last month’s findings.

As in much of the nation, President Bush’s job performance marks in Connecticut are much worse. Just 27% think he is doing a good or excellent job, while 59% rate his performance as poor.

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