Confirming shifting momentum in the Massachusetts Senate race, a just-released WHDH-7 / Suffolk University survey has Republican State Senator Scott Brown four points ahead of embattled / surprisingly thuggish Attorney General Martha Coakley.
It’s the first poll to show Brown with a decent lead over Coakley, though others have shown him ahead by as much as a single point.
The data is fascinating: while Obama remains somewhat popular, Deval Patrick and Sarah Palin are relatively unpopular and Mitt Romney still polls surprisingly well. Despite Coakley’s barrage of negative ads, Scott Brown’s net favorability rating is exceptionally high. It’s fair to ask whether her hit pieces have actually backfired.
Those polled also believe Brown won the debates.
Also to be reported in Friday’s Boston Herald, Coakley’s official Kennedy nod has apparently chased support away as what’s left of the family becomes increasingly disliked here in the Bay State.
A just-released Rasmussen Poll shows the US Senate special election to be a horse race, a virtual tie. As opposed the last week’s survey from the same outfit showing Democrat Martha Coakley nine points ahead, this one has that lead trimmed to just two: a statistical dead heat.
One key: this one asked about huckster “Joe Kennedy” by name, while the previous survey threw him into “some other candidate” territory. It appears Kennedy really does take votes from Coakley when his name is included:
The Massachusetts’ special U.S. Senate election has gotten tighter, but the general dynamics remain the same.
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state finds Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley attracting 49% of the vote while her Republican rival, state Senator Scott Brown, picks up 47%.
Three percent (3%) say they’ll vote for independent candidate Joe Kennedy, and two percent (2%) are undecided. The independent is no relation to the late Edward M. Kennedy, whose Senate seat the candidates are battling to fill in next Tuesday’s election.
Coakley is supported by 77% of Democrats while Brown picks up the vote from 88% of Republicans. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, Brown leads 71% to 23%. To be clear, this lead is among unaffiliated voters who are likely to participate in the special election.
A week ago, the overall results showed Coakley leading by a 50% to 41% margin. The closeness of the race in heavily Democratic Massachusetts has drawn increasing national interest, and Brown made it clear in the final candidate debate last night that a vote for him is a vote to stop the national health care plan Democrats are pushing in Congress.
In addition, Michelle Malkinhas the story on ringers who were paid to wave signs for Coakley outside last night’s debate. One admits he’s actually a Brown supporter!
Finally, in this clip also from Fleming & Hayes, Coakley’s arrival is met with shouts of “Go, Scott, Go!”, while Brown supporters are suddenly pushed aside by thugs:
It’s a day of duel fundraising marathons as the Money Bomb campaign for Scott Brown races toward meeting its goal many hours earlier than expected. At the same time, MoveOn.org is apparently raising money for Martha Coakley.
As of 12:45pm, the Brown Money Bomb has already generated $273,487 against a midnight target of $500,000. Clearly, the bar wasn’t set high enough.
2pm: $331,137.50
2:11pm: $359,166.83
2:32pm: $403,429.12
2:45pm: $430,713.17
3:30pm: $478,023.82
3:35pm: $485,781.70
3:55pm: $493,754.84
4:00pm: $501,750.94 — TARGET EXCEEDED
4:30pm: $525,529.12 - TARGET RAISED TO $750,000
4:46pm: $618,518.11
5:11pm: $658,522.43
6pm: $750,018.81 — SECOND TARGET EXCEEDED – NEW GOAL: $1,000,000
Thanks, Rose Kennedy Schlossberg, for so accurately representing your family’s sentiments toward the little people of Massachusetts.
That middle finger aimed out the window during Ted K’s motorcade perfectly sums up the situation: we’ll behave any way we like, while you will continue to reward us with eternal political power, all because of our “royal” surname.
Though The Globies and their apologists are ready to turn the US Senate into the House of Lords, with its former tradition of hereditary peerages, opposition researchers representing a number of candidates will be pounding away at Joe’s shady background.
For its part, talk radio has a chance to be relevant: it may not be able to revitalize a moribund GOP, but it could easily stop Joe with a bit of effort.
Also in target range: Beacon Hill’s Corruptocrats. Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg’s ill-fated, clumsy “run” for the vacant Senate seat in New York helped to damage Governor Paterson’s public standing beyond repair. Ultimately, he was stuck in a lose-lose position and made a different selection.
How our legislature and governor proceed from here could absolutely imperil their respective political careers as well. Let the implosion begin!
