For the second time in a week, a poll shows Democrat Dan Malloy with a lead over Republican Tom Foley in the governor’s race that approximates the survey’s margin of error.

Malloy leads 47.5 percent to 44.9 percent in a poll released today by the politics web site, CT Capitol Report.

The poll of 1,582 likely voters was conducted Sunday by the Merriman River Group and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

Quinnipiac University last week had Malloy with a 3-point lead that fell within that poll’s margin of error, while Rasmussen Reports last week had Malloy’s lead at 10 points and a FoxNews poll yesterday found him with 6-point lead.

Matthew Fitch, the executive director of Merriman River,  said the Foley’s support is nearly the same as Republican Linda McMahon’s in the U.S. Senate race, while Malloy is lagging behind the Democratic Senate candidate, Richard Blumenthal.

“While Malloy has a much tighter race than Blumenthal, he starts with a slight lead and there are indications that the undecided voters are likely to view him favorably as he increases in name recognition,” Fitch said.

Mark is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.

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