McMahon leads Shays, trails Dems

A majority of Republican voters prefer former World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon to former Rep. Christopher Shays in the Connecticut senatorial primary, according to a new survey.
Fifty-one percent of GOP primary voters support McMahon, while 42 percent back Shays, reports a Quinnipiac University poll Thursday.


McMahon ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2010.
Rep. Christopher Murphy (D-Conn.), who leads the Democratic primary for the retiring Joe Lieberman’s Senate seat with 37 percent support, leads McMahon 52 percent to 37 percent in a hypothetical matchup. Shays fares better, with 40 percent to Murphy’s 41 percent in a head-to-head matchup.


In a potential general election matchup, Shays nearly ties U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, the leading Democrat. The poll shows Murphy with 41 percent of the vote, compared to Shays with 40 percent. In contrast, Murphy leads McMahon, 52 percent to 37 percent.
In a matchup with former Democratic Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, Shays garners 43 percent of the vote, compared to 42 percent for Bysiewicz. Versus state Rep. William Tong, Shays leads 50 percent to 25 percent.
In contrast, Bysiewicz bests McMahon, 49 percent to 39 percent, while McMahon leads Tong, 43 percent to 39 percent.
The candidates are all hoping to fill the seat being vacated by the retiring U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent and former Democrat. A primary is expected for both the Republicans and the Democrats.
On the Democratic side, Murphy continues to hold a double-digit lead over his closest competitor, Bysiewicz. He leads her by a 37 percent to 25 percent margin, or 12 percentage points. In September, his lead was similar, 36 percent to 26 percent. Tong garners four percent of the vote, compared to one percent in September's poll.
In the state's GOP presidential primary, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has a commanding lead over rivals Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich.
The survey shows Romney with 42 percent of the vote. He's followed by Santorum with 19 percent, Gingrich with 13 percent and Rep. Ron Paul with 9 percent.
Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York and Rhode Island are holding GOP primaries on April 24.