Published December 2, 2010
Twenty-three months before a re-election bid, Massachusetts’ lone Republican congressional delegate is in a strong position, according to a new poll.
A new poll has Sen. Scott Brown up on Gov. Deval Patrick in a hypothetical 2012 Senate match-up. (AP)
When matched up against five hypothetical Democratic opponents, Sen. Scott Brown has a clear lead against all five. The closest competitors are seven points behind.
The poll, released today (PDF) by Public Policy Polling, has Brown seven points up on Gov. Deval Patrick, 49-42, and Vicki Kennedy — the widow of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, whose seat Brown replaced — 48-41.
Brown also tops three well-tenured Greater Boston congressmen: Rep. Ed Markey, 49-39; Rep. Mike Capuano, 52-36; and Rep. Stephen Lynch, 49-30.
Though Massachusetts reaffirmed its “midnight blue” color on Nov. 2, the poll found the Republican Brown with the highest approval rating (53 percent, against just 29 percent disapproval) among the five incumbents. It also found him receiving support from approximately 25 percent of Democrats, “something usually only seen in Southern Democratic states like North Carolina,” PPP says.
With the exception of the governor, however, the four other potential challengers are “far less known” than Brown, indicating that margins could close if candidates indeed mount a Senate bid. None of the five hypothetical challengers has announced an intention to run.
The poll, conducted this week, surveyed 500 Massachusetts voters — 42 percent of whom were Democrats, followed by 38 percent independent and 20 percent Republican. The poll had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.
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