Capuano a Solid Second in Massachusetts Senate Race

November 25, 2009 11:42 AM | | Comments (0)

Rep. Mike Capuano (D) is now firmly in second place in the Democratic primary for the Massachusetts Senate special election, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll of likely Democratic primary voters conducted Nov. 23.

State Attorney General Martha Coakley still leads the primary field with two weeks to go until the election, with 36 percent of the vote. Capuano is in second at 21 percent, passing investor Stephen Pagliuca, who is tied for third at 14 percent with Alan Khazei, co-founder of the community service program City Year. The margin of error is 4 percent.

Capuano was in a virtual tie with Pagliuca for second in polls conducted last month, but has seen his numbers bump up from the teens since then, a sign he is gaining some traction in his efforts to present himself as the most viable alternative to Coakley. The Rasmussen findings echo a Boston Globe/University of New Hampshire poll released earlier this week.

Pagliuca, who has spent millions of his own money on a massive advertising campaign, has leveled off in the polls after an initial surge when he first began airing ads.

Coakley and Capuano enjoy comparable favorability ratings, according to Rasmussen, with the attorney general at 61 percent and the congressman at 62 percent. Thirty percent of Democratic voters have an unfavorable view of Coakley, while 26 percent view Capuano unfavorably.

Forty-nine percent of voters regard Pagliuca favorably, compared to a 37 percent unfavorable rating. Khazei, the least known of the bunch, earns a 47 percent favorable rating and 31 percent unfavorable, while 22 percent have no opinion.

The primary will be held Dec. 8.

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Categories: Rasmussen Reports

Tags: Capuano Coakley Pagliuca Khazei

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