Romney Leads Fairfield Fundraising; Obama Tops Polls

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Mitt Romney is leading the fundraising race in Fairfield for the 2012 presidential election. But based on a recent poll, President Barack Obama is primed to keep Connecticut’s electoral votes.

Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, is far ahead of Obama in fundraising in Fairfield, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. The Republican nominee had received $152,875 in donations from Fairfield as of Aug. 21. The president’s re-election campaign has collected $62,068 from Fairfielders.

On a more localized level, Romney leads fundraising in two of Fairfield’s three ZIP codes. Donors from 06890, which covers Southport, favor Romney by a more than 2-to-1 margin. Southport residents have given Romney $42,275 to Obama’s $20,750.

 In 06824, the western portion of Fairfield, Romney has received $104,650 in donations, accounting for more than 74 percent of all presidential campaign funding from the ZIP code dating to the Republican primary. Obama has collected just $31,243 in the same region.

The only ZIP code that favors Obama in terms of donations is 06825, the eastern sections of Fairfield. Residents there have donated $10,075 to the Obama campaign, compared with $5,950 for Romney’s.

Obama is leading where it counts most, however: the polls. A Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday has the president leading among Connecticut voters by seven percentage points. About 52 percent of likely voters said they would re-elect Obama in the poll, compared with 47 percent for Romney.

Voters in Connecticut who answered the poll also had a more favorable opinion of Vice President Joe Biden than Republican candidate Paul Ryan. About 43 percent of those polled felt Biden was qualified to be president if necessary, while only 29 percent were confident Ryan was qualified. More were undecided about Ryan, however, with 44 percent saying they did not know enough about the Wisconsin congressman to make a decision.

Quinnipiac’s pollsters note that Obama’s lead in Connecticut is tighter than during his first campaign in 2008.

"Although President Barack Obama is ahead of Gov. Mitt Romney, his seven-point lead is a far cry from his 23-point victory in 2008 over John McCain,” Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz said. “We shouldn't, however, expect to see the candidates campaigning in Connecticut, which hasn't voted for a Republican since 1988.”

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