With the presidential election in full-swing, very few voters in Connecticut are focusing on the election for U.S. Senator.
However, a new poll by the Sienna Research Institute suggests that the Senate race is much more politically relevant than the presidential contest – at least in Connecticut. The poll found that Democratic senatorial candidate Chris Murphy leads Republican challenger Linda McMahon by only two percentage points, while President Obama leads Mitt Romney by 15 points in the Nutmeg State.
Don Levy, director of Sienna, remarked, “The identity of Connecticut’s next junior senator is far too close to call. Right now, Murphy leads among Democrats but with one in five D’s crossing party lines and independents favoring McMahon by five points, Murphy’s two point lead is razor thin.”
In fact, the Senate race has been gaining national attention due to its potential to become an upset victory for the Republican Party in a state that has notoriously elected Democrats.
With 33 of the 100 U.S. Senate seats up for grabs, and 18 of those seats classified as either “tossups” or only “leaning” to one party, every victory matters as the Democrats seek to maintain control and the Republicans look to take back both the Senate and the Presidency.
Despite the local and national importance, however, many Fairfield students are entirely uninformed when it comes to this race.
“I don’t know much about the Senate race,” said Dylan Fisher ’13, “I feel like most of the attention is on the Presidential race. I’ve seen some commercials for the Senate candidates, but I don’t really remember anything important about them.”
So, who are these candidates who have such great potential to tip the balance come November?
Chris Murphy has served as a U.S. Representative for Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District since 2007 and is running on a platform of business growth, health care reform, investment in education, and energy research. He is also a staunch proponent of social freedom, notably supporting women’s rights groups and LGBTQ organizations.
Murphy’s opponent, Linda McMahon, is the former CEO of WWE and running as a self-proclaimed outsider who will bring business and job creation experience to Washington. In doing so, McMahon has painted Murphy as a “career politician” while offering a six-point “Linda’s Plan” to revive the economy and reduce federal spending.
Interestingly, the Senate race has mirrored the presidential contest to a great degree, with the Republican candidate stressing job experience and warning voters not to “send the same people to Washington”, and the Democrat cautioning voters about returning to “the same set of failed economic policies” of George W. Bush.
Much like the presidential race, the race for Connecticut’s next Senator has also involved incredible sums of money.
McMahon has poured approximately $27 million of her own money into the campaign, while Murphy has
raised approximately $8 million. As the race has tightened, Murphy has also seen an influx of monetary support from PAC’s as well as the Democratic Party.
Unfortunately, Connecticut, as well as the nation, will have to wait until Nov. 6 to see what impact the ads, the money and the rhetoric have on what could be a pivotal senatorial contest.
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