CQ Politics - PollTracker
State Sen. Scott Brown (R) leads state Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) by four percentage points among likely voters in the Massachusetts Senate race according to a new poll by Suffolk University conducted Jan. 11 to 13.
Brown a huge underdog at the start of the special election has surged into the lead 50 to 46 percent over Coakley with independent candidate Joe Kennedy (no relation to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy who held the seat for decades) at 3 percent and 1 percent undecided. The margin of error is 4.4 percent.
Coakleys unfavorable rating has jumped considerably in the past two months. The latest Suffolk poll found that 41 percent of likely voters now have an unfavorable opinion of her compared to 21 percent in mid-November. Forty-nine percent now view Coakley favorably.
Brown has a far more positive net favorable rating -- 57 percent favorably to 19 percent unfavorable.
Democrats and their allies have been working feverishly this week to bring up his unfavorable rating with a slew of negative ads.
Among other damaging findings for Coakley in the poll 64 percent say they think Coakley will tow the Democratic party line to just 24 percent who think she will be an independent voice. And 61 percent of likely voters do not think the federal government can afford the proposed health care bill to 32 percent who do.
Likely voters are split on whether they favor the Democrats health care proposal -- 47 percent favor and 48 percent oppose.
Despite having seize the momentum most voters still consider Brown the underdog. Sixty-four percent think Coakley will ultimately win on Jan. 19 while just 26 percent think Brown will.
