New poll shows Blumenthal ahead in U.S. Senate race by double digits and that many voters don’t know his challengers

A new poll shows Democrat Richard Blumenthal leading in the U.S. Senate race, but a national political operative says the two-term senator is vulnerable.

The survey by nationally known Republican pollster John McLaughlin shows Blumenthal would defeat former House Republican leader Themis Klarides of Madison by 45% to 34%, as well as defeating Greenwich fundraiser Leora Levy by 45% to 33%. A poll by News 8/The Hill/Emerson College in May showed similar results with Blumenthal defeating Klarides by 10 points, as well as Levy and Fairfield immigration lawyer Peter Lumaj by 16 points each.

Longtime political operative Dick Morris, who released the poll results, said that a separate question showed that 41% would re-elect Blumenthal, but 47% said they would “choose someone new’' for the position. In addition, 49% view Blumenthal favorably, while 41% view him unfavorably.

“It really means that Blumenthal can be defeated,’' Morris told The Courant.

The poll of 500 likely voters in Connecticut has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4%. The survey did not mention Lumaj in head-to-head matchups because his name-recognition numbers were too low, said Morris, who lives in the Fairfield County town of Redding.

As the two candidates have been regularly seen on television commercials, Klarides has a higher favorability rating than Levy. Overall, 21% have a favorable view of Klarides with 17% unfavorable and 47.6% saying they “never heard of’' her. Levy has a 10% favorability rating with 16% unfavorable and 58% saying they never heard of her.

Morris, who rose to fame by advising then-President Bill Clinton before stepping down during the 1996 Democratic National Convention amid controversy, said that he is not working on behalf of any candidate in the Senate race.

“No,’' Morris said. “I’m not. It’s part of an effort to poll swing races around the country that are not normally seen as swing to see if they should expand the map’' for races that Republicans could win.

Similar surveys are also being conducted around the country, he said.

“What we’re doing is a series of polls in four or five states, including Colorado, Washington, New York, Connecticut, where the Democratic senator is seen as invulnerable,’' Morris said, referring to popular incumbents such as Sen. Charles Schumer of New York.

“The main purpose was to see if Blumenthal is vulnerable,’' Morris said.

The highly respected Cook Political Report, which tracks races nationwide, describes the Blumenthal race as “solid Democrat.’'

The survey also showed that President Joe Biden leads former President Donald J. Trump by 52-39% in Connecticut, compared to a 20-point victory in the state for Biden over Trump in 2020.

Blumenthal has repeatedly declined to comment on his opponents and polls, saying he is focused on doing his job. He has provided more details in his fundraising emails to his supporters.

“We cannot allow an increasingly radical GOP to capture another branch of our government and push their dangerous agenda on the American people,’' Blumenthal wrote. “But with the National Republican Senatorial Committee commanding a nearly $30 million war chest to attack Democratic incumbents like me, I absolutely must come through on my fundraising goals to fight back and win.’'

McLaughlin, whose firm conducted the poll, has had a variety of Republican political candidates as clients, including Trump, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, along with 22 current and former U.S. Senators.

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com