Biden to stump for Lamont, Hayes on Friday in Hartford

Former Vice President Joe Biden will make a campaign stop in Connecticut on Friday to boost Democrats Ned Lamont and Jahana Hayes.

The high-level Democrat’s visit signals how close the gubernatorial race is just two weeks before election day. A new poll by Sacred Heart University and Hearst Connecticut Media released Tuesday found Lamont and Republican Bob Stefanowski are in a statistical dead heat.

Lamont has only a 3.4 percent margin over Stefanowski, less than the margin of error, the poll found. An poll by Sacred Heart and Hearst last month found Lamont had a 6.2 percent edge.

Former President Barack Obama came to Bridgeport two days before Election Day in 2014 to urge the city to turn out for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Polls at the time also showed a tied race between Malloy and his challenger Republican Tom Foley, whom he beat in a narrow race in 2010.

Biden and Obama have been stumping for Democrats in close races around the country in 2018. Both have already endorsed Lamont and Hayes.

“Ned Lamont has dedicated his life to making sure middle-class families have a fighting chance to get ahead and stay ahead,” Biden said earlier this month. “He’s a person of character and integrity who is in the public arena to make a positive difference.”

The rally, at Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy at 3:30 p.m., is open to the public.

Polls show Hayes’s race — the only open Congressional seat in Connecticut — is less competitive than the gubernatorial fight.

The Sacred Heart poll found 48.7 percent of Connecticut “likely voters” will support the Democratic candidate in their Congressional district, compared to 34.1 percent who will support the Republican candidate.

The 14.6 percentage point margin is up from the 13.0 percentage point margin posted in September 2018.