Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 9/8-10. Likely voters. MoE 4% (3/23-25 results)
2010 Republican Primary
Rob Simmons 38
Sam Caliguiri 8
Thomas Foley 6
Peter Schiff 1
Undecided 48
2010 General Election
Chris Dodd (D) 42 (45)
Simmons (R) 46 (40)
Dodd leads the other lesser-known Republicans, but the gap has narrowed since March's poll. Just a look at the candidates' favorables explains why -- Dodd's favorable/unfavorable ratings have gone from 47-40 in March, to 43-47 last week. Simmons is actually slightly improved, from 41-18 to 43-17, though the difference is between the poll's margin of error.
We also polled some hypothetical 2012 Senate matchups, and found Republican Gov. Jodi Rell with the early leads:
Rell (R) 46
Lamont (D) 26
Lieberman (I) 26
Rell (R) 40
Blumenthal (D) 32
Lieberman (I) 23
Lieberman is essentially the third choice, and with an approval/disapproval rating of 47-50, his popularity remains compromised. And on the issue of the day, Lieberman's opposition to a public option is wildly out of sync with his constituents:
Do you favor or oppose creating a government-administered health insurance option that anyone can purchase to compete with private insurance plans?
Favor 68
Oppose 21
Even a third of Republicans want a public option. And since Lieberman fancies himself an independent, he should know that Connecticut independents support the public option by a 73-18 margin. Lieberman's opposition to the public option is clearly not rooted in his constituents' concerns. But give him props -- he's doing a heckuva job representing the interests of his K-Street lobbyist friends.
We also polled the birther question, and Connecticut gets the best results of any state we've polled thus far:
Do you believe that Barack Obama was born in the United States of America or not?
Yes 87
No 6
Republicans: 71 yes, 13 no, 16 not sure.
These are the most reality-based Republicans polled thus far.