Attorney General Martha Coakley continues to look strong against both her fellow Democratic candidates and against the likely Republican nominee in the Massachusetts Senate special election, according to a Western New England College Polling Institute survey conducted Oct. 18-22.
With just over a month to go before the Dec. 8 primary, Coakley leads the Democratic field with 37 percent among registered voters. In a bit of a surprise, the survey found investor and Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca running neck-and-neck with six-term U.S. Rep. Michael E. Capuano for second place. Pagliuca is at 14 percent and Capuano at 13 percent.
Alan Khazei, the co-founder of community service program City Year, trails at 4 percent of the vote. Twenty-six percent of voters were still undecided.
Either Coakley or Capuano would win comfortably in the Jan. 19 general election against state Sen. Scott Brown, the GOP's lone serious contender, in the Democratic-leaning state. Coakley performs best in the hypothetical match-up, leading Brown 58 percent to 32 percent among likely voters. Capuano tops Brown 49 percent to 33 percent.
Adding to Republicans' challenges in the race, Brown remains one of the least-known candidates in the field. Fifty-two percent of registered voters say they haven't heard of him, and another 26 percent had no opinion, second only to Khazei, who is unknown to 56 percent of voters while 28 percent have not formed an opinion of him.
Coakley is the best known of the pack, with a 43 percent favorable rating to 19 percent unfavorable. Just 17 percent of voters had not heard of her and19 percent had no opinion.
To see how al the 2010 Senate races are shaping up, check out the CQ Politics' election map.
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