Luntz Poll: The Real Bad News Is For Linda McMahon

Republican darling and West Hartford native Frank Luntz is out with a poll that has ex-Connecticut resident and former U.S. Rep. Chris Shays in striking distance of Chris Murphy in the 2012 U.S. Senate race. Yawn.

Shays, who lives in Maryland, is just another name in a poll with a very small sampling of voters (just 500 people) by Luntz, the Hall High grad and language trickster who helped Republicans recast "global warming" as "climate change."

The real black eye that Luntz delivered was to Republicans who want to see the $50 Million Woman run again. The thin and transparent poll is a trial balloon on behalf of Shays.

For Linda McMahon, the finding that stands out the most is the 57% who would probably or definitely not vote for her if she were the GOP nominee. Her race in 2010 -- a Republican year everywhere else -- clearly damaged her image statewide, and her favorability is "upside-down," with more people having a negative than positive image of her. She would be the best known candidate statewide -- 86% of the electorate has an opinion of her -- but with opinions so solidified (and so negative) thanks to a vicious campaign waged against her, it's hard to see a potential path to victory for her in 2012 in a state that is already tilted against the GOP.

This conclusion by a Republican opinion-maker is devastating to McMahon, who has been busy trying to recast her image since her loss to Richard Blumenthal last year. McMahon, who says she has not decided whether to run, has been showing up as a supporter of public broadcasting and urban education lately.

My money is still on a McMahon candidacy. I'm not so sure she isn't the strongest Republican candidate out there.

source: courant.com