Bristol students back Obama and McMahon

Chris Murphy greets Barack Obama in Hartford in 2008.

At a mock election at Bristol Central High School today, students and teachers overwhelmingly picked President Barack Obama to win reelection Tuesday. But in a result that might trouble Democrat Chris Murphy's campaign, they also backed Republican Linda McMahon in Connecticut's hotly contested U.S. Senate race. The mock election attracted 878 votes, according to Democratic Registrar Mary Rydingsward, who said students used one of the electronic voting machines that everyone will be using next week to cast their ballots. In the presidential race, Obama attracted 70 percent of the vote, crushing GOP contender Mitt Romney who got only 221 votes compared to 619 for Obama. Minor party candidates pulled in 29 votes. In the Senate race, however, McMahon secured 431 votes to Murphy's 400. A Libertarian contender collected 36 votes in the race. That means that nearly 200 students who voted for Obama also picked McMahon, a result that could be troubling Tuesday if their parents follow suit. In the only other race on the students' ballot, U.S. Rep. John Larson picked up 559 vote to Republican challenger John Henry Decker's 219.
Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com