Rasmussen (6/24, likely voters):
Deval Patrick (D-inc): 40
Christy Mihos (R): 41Deval Patrick (D-inc): 41
Charlie Baker (R): 36
(MoE: ±4.5%)
Add Deval Patrick of Massachusetts to the list of northeastern Governors that nobody much likes. Patrick’s job approvals are 42% approve (including 11% strongly approve) and 57% disapprove (including 32% strongly disapprove). He finds himself in a dead heat with businessman Christy Mihos (who garnered 7% of the vote in 2006 as an independent, but is running as a Republican this time) and barely leading Charlie Baker (whom I’ll admit I’ve never heard of before today; he’s the CEO of health care provider Harvard-Pilgrim, and is rumbling about the race while not having taken any steps yet). Mihos is well-known with 46/35 favorables, while Baker is only at 37/27 with 35% unknown.
Patrick represents a state that’s heavily Democratic enough that his opposition may already be polling near their ceilings… but given the state’s recent tolerance of moderate Republican governors (and its bamboozlement by Mitt Romney), he can’t even begin to count on the state’s lean to pull it out for him. One other item that gives me some confidence about this race, though, is that Patrick has hired David Plouffe to run his re-election campaign, while Christy Mihos has hired… Dick Morris.
RaceTracker: MA-Gov
You mean this A+ student of horse-race politics? I feel much better about Deval Patrick’s chances all of the sudden.
But what if he does step aside? Would people convalesce around Lt. Gov. Tim Murray, or would it be a 5-ring frakus?
Democrats should have never nominated Patrick in the first place. He’s been disastorously unpopular as governor so far.
I am a liberal from Massachusetts who has always voted democrat. I voted against Weld. I voted for Harshberger against Celluci, I voted for O’brien against Romney. I voted for Deval Patrick when he ran against Kerry Healey. However, I will not be voting for Deval Patrick again. He has done a terrible job as governor and I have seen my personal life affected by his crappy performance as governor. I will be voting against him in the primary (hopefully Tim Cahill will run). If Patrick wins the primary, I will have to vote Republican. If I lived in New Jersey, I would vote for Corzine rather than Christie however, Deval Patrick needs to go!
The Republicans gave him the governorship on a silver platter. Not only was 2006 the year when Republicans got pink slips, Romney was badmouthing the state he was governor in to GOP voters in Iowa and South Carolina. Healey ran her campaign Karl Rove style by accusing Patrick of being friendly to rapists. The Big Dig accident when a piece of the wall fell on a car and killed someone happened on Romney and Healey’s watch. And last of all, Romney was a failure as a governor.
Democrats could of run anyone that year and they still would of crushed Healey.
What exactly has Patrick done that is so bad?
I have to agree that Deval has done an awful job so far….but he’s been on an uptick lately getting pension reform and a major transportation overhaul passed through the legislature. If he can keep that up, he may yet survive.