With the deadline for adjusting party affiliation for the Super-Duper-Tuesday primary approaching, I had been getting curious about polling numbers in Connecticut, to see if my vote would be more useful in either the D’s or the R’s primary.
(Annoyingly, to vote in a primary in CT, you have to predeclare a party affiliation, despite the fact that our tax dollars pay for every party’s primary. The deadline to switch parties in Connecticut for the February primary is 7 November, and you can use the regular voter registration form to make the change.)
Quinnipiac University appears to have addressed my curiosity with one of their recent releases:
Clinton dominates a Connecticut Democratic primary with 43 percent, followed by Obama with 16 percent and Edwards with 8 percent. Sen. Christopher Dodd gets 7 percent.
Giuliani rules the Republican race with 42 percent, trailed by McCain with 14 percent, Thompson with 10 percent and Romney with 9 percent.
In the presidential face-off, Clinton gets 44 percent to Giuliani’s 42 percent.
The passage quoted doesn’t mention that Obama and McCain are running third in their respective races, behind “don’t know”.
With Connecticut looking “safe” for Clinton and Giuliani, I don’t think I need to hold my nose and vote for a viable candidate for either party. Instead, I’m thinking I might re-affiliate with the pachyderms in order to cast a Ron Paul vote, in the hopes of helping some libertarian…or at least fiscally conservative…ideas get a bit more mainstream attention.
Oh, and you’d think that with Dodd drawing only 7% of the vote in his home state, he might get the message that perhaps it’s time to help thin the Democratic candidate field?
The Q Poll also provides information on polling in New York and New Jersey:
- New York:
- Dems: Clinton 49%, Don’t Know 16%, Obama 12%, Edwards 11%
- Reps: Giuliani 45%, Don’t Know 15%, Thompson 12%, McCain 9%
- Prez: Clinton 50%, Giuliani 36%, Don’t Know 9%
- New Jersey:
- Dems: Clinton 46%, Obama 20%, Don’t Know 14%, Edwards 9%, Romney 7%
- Reps: Giuliani 48%, Don’t Know 13%, Thompson 12%, McCain 12%, Romney 7%
- Prez: Giuliani 44%, Clinton 44%
In other words, I foresee a potentially sleepy primary up in this corner of the country…but the presidential race could actually be competitive in Connecticut, for a change, if Giuliani gets the nod.
