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August 6, 2010
Brown Poll
In the latest Brown U. Poll, Frank Caprio has, for the first time, taken a small lead over Lincoln Chafee in the race for governor (though it's a statistical dead heat).
If the general election for governor were held today, 27.9 percent of people would vote for Caprio, and 26.5 percent would support Chafee. These numbers are within the margin of error, making the race between Caprio and Chafee a statistical tie. However, about more than 30 percent of voters are still undecided. Republicans John Robitaille and Victor Moffitt had 7 percent and 2 percent of support, respectively, while Moderate Party candidate Kenneth Block had support from 3 percent of respondents.It was only a matter of time, imho. All of the statewide races were polled with no real surprises, if you ask me. In other words, Democratic incumbents run strong (even if their individual approval ratings are generally sub 50%).
Generally speaking, Rhode Islanders are no different than the rest of the nation in their view that the stimulus didn't do much except help government and they don't much like that trend, either:
Nearly one and one-half years later, 49 percent of the respondents hold the view that the economic stimulus bill has not made a difference in the nation’s economy, 73 percent say the stimulus program has not made a difference in their personal financial situation, and 57 percent say the economic stimulus program has not made a difference in their local community.Another thing is that there are still a lot of undecided/don't knows out there. No surprise in the summah.A majority of respondents say they believe the economic stimulus spending helped state and local governments avoid layoffs and cuts. However, 76 percent of those surveyed say that stimulus spending increased federal budget deficit. Fifty-one percent say the federal government should make it a priority to bring down the deficit, while 33 percent think the federal government should prioritize spending more to help the nation’s economy.
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Posted by: Scott Bill Hirst at August 6, 2010 11:03 AMThe real interesting thing is Democrats like Caprio did not poll higher. Democrats registration wise and voting history favor Democrats despite the fact the last four elections Republicans were elected Governor.
Remember a very small percentage of Rhode Islanders list themselves as Republicans while Democrats have approaching half of registered voters.
It will be interesting what happens mid September on.
Regards,
Scott
Couple of polling questions:
Posted by: rhody at August 6, 2010 11:52 AM+ Why are they running Robitaille and Moffitt together in that poll? Only one will be on the ballot in November.
+ There's a big discrepancy between Brown and Rasmussen in the number of undecideds. Also, it seems funny what Chafee is leading in what's perceived to be the more conservative-skewing poll and Caprio in the perceived liberal-leaning poll.
I thought this was also a very interesting finding from the most recent poll:
"The poll also asked voters about the Central Falls school superintendent’s decision to fire every teacher at Central Falls High School after negotiations over school reform proposals broke down earlier this year. The poll asked respondents whether they thought the decision to fire the teachers was the “right thing to do” or the “wrong thing to do.” Sixty percent of those surveyed agreed with the decision to fire the teachers and 32 percent thought it was the wrong thing to do."
Anybody see any press releases today from Bob Walsh or Marcia Reback saying that new polling data shows that 60% of Rhode Island adults are "anti-teacher" and don't appreciate that the unions actions are always "for the children"?
Posted by: John at August 6, 2010 4:00 PM"don't appreciate that the unions actions are always "for the children"?"
... truly, this is a serious misapprehension on the part of 60% of Rhode Islanders ...
Posted by: Monique at August 6, 2010 9:29 PM"Why are they running Robitaille and Moffitt together in that poll? Only one will be on the ballot in November."
Yup, good point, Rhody. Kind of skews the results.
Posted by: Monique at August 6, 2010 9:32 PM