Emerson College Poll: Poll Suggests Coakley Can't Close the Gap on Baker in Massachusetts Governor Race

BOSTON, Oct. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In the Massachusetts governor's race, it's looking like "deja vu all over again" for Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley. With less than a week to Election Day, an Emerson College Polling Society survey shows that Coakley, who suffered an epic fade in the 2010 special election for the U.S. Senate, is trailing her Republican opponent Charlie Baker by 6 points, 48% to 42%. Independent Evan Falchuk draws 4% of the vote.

In other competitive races, Republican Richard Tisei remains 2 points ahead of Seth Moulton in the 6th District (42% to 40%).  Democrat incumbent Bill Keating has opened a 5-point lead over Republican John Chapman (46% to 41%) in the 9th Congressional District.

The enthusiasm gap throughout the state favors the Republicans next Tuesday. Voters who said they are more enthusiastic about this year's election favor Baker over Coakley by a 60% to 35% margin.

Most ominous for Coakley in the governor's race, many of underlying trends noted in the polling data point toward a Baker victory. Among the Bay State's large population of independents, Baker holds a 2-1 edge (60% to 29%), a strong indicator of success for any Republican trying to win statewide office in liberal Massachusetts. Crossover voters also lean his way, with 19% of Democrats saying they will vote for him, as compared to only 5% of Republicans who plan to vote for Coakley.

Survey participants continue to view Baker more favorably than Coakley. His favorable/unfavorable ratio is 53% to 35% compared to her 45% to 47%. President's Obama's plummeting popularity might be hurting the Democrat candidates; since an October 15 ECPS poll, the president's unfavorable rating in the state, which he won by 23 points in 2012, has climbed from 43% to 52%.

Baker also gets the nod from voters on which gubernatorial candidate is better able to address their number one issue: job creation. Among the 35% who say jobs are their top priority, Baker holds a commanding 68% to 31% advantage over Coakley.

Despite Baker faring better on the ballot test and many other measures, 49% of respondents still expect Coakley to win; 37% think Baker will take the seat.

The race for the congressional seat in the 6th district is still tight with Republican Richard Tisei maintaining a slight lead against Democrat Seth Moulton (42% to 40%):  3% of respondents support Independent Chris Stockwell. Enthusiasm appears to be with Tisei, as 53% of Tisei supporters re more enthusiastic about the election as compared to 31% of Moulton supporters. Breaking down by region, Moulton's key bloc is in the south, where 43% support him as compared to Tisei's 37% in the same region, John Tierney (D) won this bloc 59% to 41% over Tisei in 2012.

Meanwhile, in the 9th district, Keating's name recognition remains high: 41% of respondents have a favorable attitude towards him, and 33% view him unfavorably. Chapman has a favorability of 35% while 25% of voters are unfavorable towards him.  Amongst Independents, Chapman enjoys a 10-point lead (47% to 37%), a gap that has narrowed since an October 20 ECPS poll that had Chapman 19 points ahead amongst Independents (55% to 34%).

To ensure the release of topical polls, the Emerson College Polling Society is running a month long crowdfunding campaign that kicks off on Friday, October 31st. To learn more about this endeavor, visit https://emerson.useed.net/projects/107/home.

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These Emerson College Polling Society polls were conducted October 26-29. The polling sample for the gubernatorial race consisted of 627 likely voters, with a margin of error of +/-3.85% and a 95% confidence level. The sample for the 6th Congressional District consisted of 400 likely voters with a margin of error of +/-4.85% and a 95% confidence level. In the 9th District, the sample included 410 likely voters with a margin of error of +/- 4.79% and a 95% confidence level.  All three surveys were conducted using an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. The full methodology and results can be found at www.theecps.com.

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SOURCE Emerson College Polling Society

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