



Raleigh, N.C. – PPP’s newest

Massachusetts poll finds Barack Obama leading Mitt Romney 57-39, up a tick from

last month when the spread was 55-39. A lot of the internal numbers on the poll

are pretty brutal for Romney. Only 39% of voters have a favorable opinion of

him to 58% with a negative one. Only 23% consider him to be a Bay Stater, to

67% who do not. They say by a 42/44 margin that they disapprove of the work he

did as Governor, and by a 55/36 spread they think Deval Patrick has been a

better leader for the state than he was. (Patrick has a solid 51/37 approval

rating.) There aren’t a lot of positives to take out of this poll for Romney.

Massachusetts’ ballot initiatives on both assisted suicide (58/25) and

medical marijuana (60/27) continue to lead for passage by wide margins. What’s

interesting about these is that both of them have support across party lines.

Democrats (61/22), independents (61/22), and Republicans (47/38) all favor the

assisted suicide measure. And it’s the same story when it comes to medical

marijuana with Democrats (67/20), independents (59/27), and Republicans (45/41)

all expressing support.

Massachusetts voters like John Kerry. He has a 52/35 approval rating and

would lead a generic Republican 54-33 in a head to head match up, suggesting he

should be reelected easily in 2014 if he wants to be. Voters aren’t thrilled

about the idea of him becoming Secretary of State though- 30% say they would like

him to move into that office while 48% would not and 22% don’t have an opinion

either way.

We’ve been asking the same set of poll questions about the Red Sox all year,

and the faithful have gotten more and more depressed and more and more hostile

toward Bobby Valentine with each passing poll. In June Valentine had a 33%

approval rating to 25% of fans disapproving of him and only 17% thought he

should be fired to 52% who believed he should continue on. Now his approval

rating is just 18% with 50% of fans disapproving of him and 42% think he should

be fired to only 25% who think he should stay on and 33% who don’t have an

opinion. It’s pretty clear he’s lost the support of the fan base.

PPP surveyed 876 likely Massachusetts voters from

September 13th to 16th. The margin of error for the overall survey

is +/-3.3%. This poll was not paid for

or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are

conducted through automated telephone interviews.

Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.

Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of President

Barack Obama’s job performance?

Approve …………………………………………………. 56%

Disapprove……………………………………………… 41%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 2%

Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion

of Mitt Romney?

Favorable……………………………………………….. 39%

Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 58%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 3%

Q3 The candidates for President are Democrat

Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney. If

the election was today, who would you vote

for?

Barack Obama………………………………………… 57%

Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 39%

Undecided………………………………………………. 4%

Q4 Do you trust Barack Obama or Mitt Romney

more on the issue of the economy?

Barack Obama………………………………………… 55%

Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 41%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 4%

Q5 Do you trust Barack Obama or Mitt Romney

more on the issue of foreign policy?

Barack Obama………………………………………… 58%

Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 37%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 5%

Q6 Question 2 would allow a physician licensed in

Massachusetts to prescribe medication, at the

request of a terminally ill patient meeting

certain conditions, to end that person’s life. If

the election was today, would you vote yes or

no on Question 2?

Yes………………………………………………………… 58%

No …………………………………………………………. 25%

Undecided………………………………………………. 17%

Q7 Question 3 would eliminate state criminal and

civil penalties for the medical use of marijuana

by qualifying patients. If the election was today,

would you vote yes or no on Question 3?

Yes………………………………………………………… 60%

No …………………………………………………………. 27%

Undecided………………………………………………. 14%

Q8 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor

Deval Patrick’s job performance?

Approve …………………………………………………. 51%

Disapprove……………………………………………… 37%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 13%

Q9 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator John

Kerry’s job performance?

Approve …………………………………………………. 52%

Disapprove……………………………………………… 35%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 14%

Q10 Generally speaking, if there was an election for

Senate today, would you vote for Democrat

John Kerry or his Republican opponent?

John Kerry ……………………………………………… 54%

Republican opponent ……………………………….. 33%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 13%

Q11 Would you like to see John Kerry become

Secretary of State if President Obama is reelected,

or not?

Would like him to …………………………………….. 30%

Would not……………………………………………….. 48%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 22%

Q12 Regardless of how you feel about him now, do

you approve or disapprove of the work Mitt

Romney did while he was Governor of

Massachusetts?

Approve …………………………………………………. 42%

Disapprove……………………………………………… 44%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 14%

Q13 Do you consider Mitt Romney to be a Bay

Stater, or not?

He is ……………………………………………………… 23%

He is not…………………………………………………. 67%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%

Q14 Who do you think was a better Governor of

Massachusetts: Mitt Romney or Deval Patrick?

Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 36%

Deval Patrick…………………………………………… 55%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 9%

Q15 Do you approve or disapprove of how Mitt

Romney reacted to the situation in Libya this

week?

Approve …………………………………………………. 30%

Disapprove……………………………………………… 56%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 14%

Q16 Do you think Mitt Romney should release his

tax returns for the last 12 years, or not?

He should……………………………………………….. 58%

He should not………………………………………….. 36%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 6%

Q17 Do you consider yourself to be a Boston Red

Sox fan, or not?

Are a Red Sox fan …………………………………… 75%

Are not …………………………………………………… 25%

Q18 (Q18-22 asked only of Sox fans) Do you

approve or disapprove of the job Bobby

Valentine is doing as manager?

Approve …………………………………………………. 18%

Disapprove……………………………………………… 50%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 32%

Q19 Do you think Bobby Valentine should continue

to serve as manager of the Red Sox, or should

he be fired?

Valentine should continue as manager ……….. 25%

He should be fired……………………………………. 42%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 33%

Q20 Would you like to see Terry Francona return as

manager of the Red Sox someday, or not?

Would like to see Francona return ……………… 52%

Would not……………………………………………….. 23%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 26%

Q21 What do you think the outcome of the Red Sox

season will be this year: win the World Series,

win the American League but not the World

Series, make the playoffs but not win the

pennant, or miss the playoffs?

Sox will win the World Series…………………….. 3%

They’ll win the AL but not the Series …………… 6%

They’ll make the playoffs but not win the

pennant…………………………………………………..12%

They’ll miss the playoffs……………………………. 75%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 3%

Q22 Do you approve or disapprove of the trade

which sent Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford,

Josh Beckett, and Nick Punto to the Los

Angeles Dodgers for James Loney, four

prospects, and more than $250 million of salary

relief?

Approve …………………………………………………. 55%

Disapprove……………………………………………… 16%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 30%

Q23 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,

somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat

conservative, or very conservative?

Very liberal ……………………………………………… 13%

Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 21%

Moderate………………………………………………… 35%

Somewhat conservative……………………………. 23%

Very conservative ……………………………………. 8%

Q24 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.

Woman ………………………………………………….. 50%

Man……………………………………………………….. 50%

Q25 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,

press 2. If you are an independent or identify

with another party, press 3.

Democrat ……………………………………………….. 38%

Republican……………………………………………… 17%

Independent/Other…………………………………… 45%

Q26 If you are white, press 1. If other, press 2.

White …………………………………………………….. 84%

Other……………………………………………………… 16%

Q27 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to

45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are

older than 65, press 4.

18 to 29………………………………………………….. 9%

30 to 45………………………………………………….. 21%

46 to 65………………………………………………….. 48%

Older than 65………………………………………….. 22%