By Mark Pazniokas / CTMirror.org

Connecticut voters favor Democrat Kamala Harris for president over Republican Donald Trump, but the GOP electorate here remains loyal to Trump and shares his suspicion that votes will not be accurately and fairly counted, according to a poll conducted for the Connecticut Mirror.

By 53 to 37 percent, state voters prefer Harris, a 16 percentage point lead that sits between the Democratic margins of victory in Connecticut over Trump in two previous elections: Hillary Clinton by 14 points in 2016; Joe Biden by 20 points in 2020. Three percent favored Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

In a rematch of the 2018 U.S. Senate race, two-term Democrat Chris Murphy leads his Republican challenger, Matthew Corey, 51 to 35 percent. Six years ago, Corey had 39 percent of the vote. This year, 62 percent say they never heard of him.

Party affiliation in Connecticut separates voters not just on presidential preference, but how they view the integrity of the election system and the relative importance of issues like abortion, climate change, gun policies, the economy and the future of democracy in America.

When it comes to confidence in U.S. elections, Democrats and Republicans stand on opposite sides of a vast political divide: Ninety-three percent of Democrats say they were very confident or somewhat confident that votes in the presidential contest would be properly counted nationally, compared to just 27 percent of Republicans.

When the question is how well votes would be counted in Connecticut, the partisan gap narrows. But it still is significant: Half of the Republicans say they are confident in an accurate count, compared to 97 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of unaffiliated voters.

Trump insisted without evidence four years ago that his loss was the result of fraud, and his supporters rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the day Vice President Mike Pence certified the victory by the Biden-Harris ticket over Trump and Pence. Democrats called the attack a threat to democracy.

In the new poll, three-quarters of Democrats say “the future of democracy in America” is one of the issues that matters most to them. Sixty-one percent of unaffiliated voters agree, compared to just 38 percent of Republicans.

There is a rough consensus about the potential for major political violence in Connecticut. Large majorities say it is unlikely: Democrats, 84 percent; Republicans 71 percent; unaffiliated, 77 percent.

On the presidential race, there is little crossover: 93 percent of Democrats stand with Harris, who was nominated without opposition after Biden quit the race, and 89 percent of Republicans stand with Trump on his third try. Only 2 percent of Democrats align with Trump; 4 percent of Republicans are with Harris.

Ninety-five percent of Democrats and 62 percent of unaffiliated say Harris did best at the only debate between them, which was held two days before polling began for this survey. Fifty-two percent of Republicans say Trump was best.

Democrats and Republicans differ on the issues that matter most.

For Democrats, at least 60 percent point to gun policies, climate change, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the character of each candidate; more than 70 percent mention abortion and the future of democracy. None of those were significant Republican priorities.

The economy (81 percent), immigration policy (78 percent), and national debt and the deficit (58 percent) were the only issues mentioned by a majority of Republicans.

About half of voters of all political affiliations said Social Security and Medicare mattered to them.