Q poll: Murphy widens lead over McMahon The tie in the state's U.S. Senate race has finally broken, according to today's Quinnipiac University Poll that finds U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy with a six-point lead over Republican Linda McMahon, as women and older voters have given him a 49-43 edge with less than two weeks until the election. Poll Director Douglas Schwartz said the numbers seem identical to 2010, when McMahon faded at the end of the Senate race with Democrat Richard Blumenthal. The Oct.