U.S. Senate Race Poll Data on Key Issues
Important Issues
Oct. 3, 2011
UMass Lowell —
Boston Herald Political Poll
Poll Conducted Sept. 22 - 28, 2011: Analysis from interviews with 1,005 registered Massachusetts voters (plus or minus 3.8 percentage points on the full sample)
Press Release
What Do Massachusetts Voters Care About?Not surprising, jobs and the economy topped the list of issues that survey respondents want addressed at the debate of democratic candidates for U.S. Senate on Oct. 4. Overall, Massachusetts voters are in a sour mood about the state of the nation - and they generally prefer Democratic policy priorities. In 2010 Brown rode the former to victory despite the latter (and against a candidate considered to be a weak campaigner). The survey also asked about specific issues like health care reform, social security and the budget deficit.
U.S. on the Wrong Track
Sixty-two percent say things in this country today are “seriously off on the wrong track” as opposed to “generally going in the right
direction,” comparable to the mood of the January 2010 Senate electorate as measured in the Washington Post post-election poll. Brown won 66 pecent of “wrong track” voters in 2010 but only leads Warren 48 percent to 34 percent among them in this survey of all potential voters.
All MA.
registered
voters | Early 2012 Senate vote preference by key issues | LIKELY VOTE IN 2012 FOR: |
|---|
Scott Brown (R) | Elizabeth Warren (D) | Other/no
opinion |
|---|
| 100% | ALL MASSACHUSETTS REGISTERED VOTERS | 41% | 38% | 21% |
|---|
| Do you think things in this country today are: | |
|---|
| 23% | Generally going in the right direction | 32% | 45% | 22% |
| 62% | Seriously off on the wrong track | 48% | 34% | 18% |
| 12% | Mixed (VOL.) | 26% | 41% | 32% |
| Do you think the nation's economy is: | |
|---|
| 11% | Getting better | 32% | 51% | 16% |
| 40% | Staying about the same | 34% | 47% | 19% |
| 48% | Getting worse | 49% | 28% | 23% |
| Which comes closer to your view: | |
|---|
| 52% | Government should do more to solve problems | 27% | 50% | 23% |
| 40% | Government is doing too many things better left to business and individuals | 61% | 25% | 14% |
| What is more important: | |
|---|
| 29% | Taking steps to reduce the budget deficit | 55% | 27% | 18% |
| 55% | Keeping Social Security and Medicare benefits as they are | 38% | 47% | 20% |
| 13% | Both equally (VOL.) | 44% | 31% | 25% |
| 2010 federal health care reform | |
|---|
| 32% | Went too far | 71% | 15% | 14% |
| 27% | Was about right | 27% | 49% | 24% |
| 31% | Didn't go far enough | 23% | 56% | 21% |
| 2006 Massachusetts health care reform | |
|---|
| 28% | Went too far | 63% | 17% | 21% |
| 45% | Was about right | 33% | 48% | 19% |
| 18% | Didn't go far enough | 33% | 50% | 17% |
| Illegal immigrant who graduates from MA high school and is accepted to state public college ... | |
|---|
| 46% | Should qualify for in-state tuition | 30% | 51% | 18% |
| 48% | Should not qualify for in-state tuition | 52% | 27% | 21% |
Note: Percentages across rows might not add to 100 because of rounding
Economy Is Getting Worse
Forty-eight percent of registered voters say the nation’s economy is getting worse, and Brown leads Warren 49 percent to 28 percent among them. Warren leads by a comparable margin, 51 percent to 32 percent, among voters who say the economy is getting better, but only 11 percent say that. Warren leads 47 percent to 34 percent among the 40 percent who say the economy is staying about the same.
Third of Respondents Been Effected by Lay-off
Thirty-five percent of voters say someone in their household has been laid off since the most recent U.S. recession began in 2007. That includes 17 percent of the poll respondents themselves.
Nearly Quarter of Respondents "Angry" With Republican Policies
While more voters view Brown favorably (52 percent) than unfavorably (29 percent), 37 percent of respondents said they are dissatisfied with policies offered by Republicans in Congress and another 23 percent said they are angry with those policies. The poll also captured how voters view the current Democratic president in comparison to the Republican U.S. Senator from Massachusetts.
| Comparing Mass. voters' views of Barack Obama and Scott Brown |
|---|
| Overall view of Obama | Overall view of Brown |
|---|
| Favorable | 61% | 52% |
| Unfavorable | 34% | 29% |
| Heard of/undecided | 4% | 11% |
| Never heard of | * | 8% |
| Has Obama ... | Has Brown ... |
|---|
| Exceeded your expectations | 7% | 8% |
| Met your expectations | 36% | 46% |
| Fallen short of your expectations | 54% | 34% |
| Don't know/refused (VOL.) | 3% | 12% |
| Obama compromises with Republications ... | Brown compromises with Democrats ... |
|---|
| Too much | 33% | 8% |
| About the right amount | 34% | 50% |
| Not enough | 25% | 32% |
| Don't know/refused (VOL.) | 9% | 9% |