Q Poll: Foley Finding a Way to Throw It Away.

The Quinnipiac University poll of 1,085 likely voters reveals that Republican nominee for governor Tom Foley is finding ways to squander his lead against unpopular Democratic incumbent Dannel P. Malloy in the rerun of their 2010 contest. The Qunnipiac survey finds Foley and Malloy at 43%. The university’s September poll gave Foley a 6% edge over Malloy. The two have since engaged in a barrage of negative advertising on the airwaves that looks to have helped Malloy.

The poll holds out some hope that Foley may be able to reverse Malloy’s momentum. It finds that likely voters continue to disapprove of Malloy’s performance by a wide margin. The poll suggests, however, that Malloy and his allies are succeeding in making Foley a more unpalatable choice than the disliked Malloy. That is no small achievement. It’s unlikely to be reversed by ads featuring Foley talking to a hotdog vendor or calling for a truce on attacks.

Foley is providing a valuable lesson for campaign school case studies: you cannot be both candidate and campaign manager.