Q-Poll: Malloy Faces a Grumpy Electorate

Connecticut voters have a dim view of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's first two months in office, disapproving of his overall performance and his proposal to raise taxes by $1.5 billion to help erase an inherited deficit, according to a poll released today.

Quinnipiac University's first take on voter attitudes towards the new governor found only about one-third of the state approves of his job performance or his handling of the budget, but 55 percent say they are nonetheless optimistic about the next four years under Malloy.

"I'm pretty encouraged by that," Malloy said of the voters who see an upside in his administration. "We're asking for sacrifice. We're spreading that sacrifice. I understand that's unpopular."

Voters also give him high marks for his effort to sell his ideas, with 89 percent saying his town-hall meetings on the budget and the economy and are a good idea. Nearly everyone acknowledged that Malloy and the state are confronting a significant budget problem.

But by wide margins, voters say they do not beleive Malloy has proposed the right mix of higher taxes and spending cuts.

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