Here Are The Results of SurveyUSA Election Poll #10181

Geography Surveyed: Massachusetts
Data Collected: 09/09/2006 - 09/11/2006
Release Date: 09/12/2006 11:45 AM ET
Sponsor: WBZ-TV Boston

Dramatic Shift to Patrick in MA Governor Primary: In a Democratic Primary for Governor of Massachusetts today, 9/12/06, one week to the vote, Deval Patrick defeats Chris Gabrieli and Tom Reilly, according to a SurveyUSA poll of 609 Likely Massachusetts Democratic Primary Voters, conducted exclusively for WBZ-TV Boston. Today, 1 week to the 9/19/06 Primary, Patrick gets 45%, up 11 points from an identical SurveyUSA WBZ-TV poll released 8/22/06. Gabrieli is down 1 point to 29%. Reilly is down 9 points to 21%. In the last 3 weeks Patrick's lead has quadrupled to 16 points. Patrick is strongest among the most liberal, educated, and affluent voters. Patrick has been on top in five consecutive SurveyUSA polls, but until today never led by more than 10 points. The contrast in movement between Patrick and Reilly since SurveyUSA's last tracking poll is striking: Among men, Patrick is up 10, Reilly is down 11. Among women, Patrick is up 13, Reilly is down 8. Among voters earning less than $40,000 per year, Reilly is down 13, Patrick is up 13. Among those earning more than $80,000 per year, Patrick is up 14, Reilly is down 14. In almost all of these cases, Gabrieli is unchanged, or has moved only slightly. The winner of the 9/19/06 Primary will face Republican Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey in November. Incumbent Republican Governor Mitt Romney is not running for re-election.

Filtering: 2,000 Massachusetts adults were interviewed 9/9/06 - 9/11/06. Of them, 1,736 were registered voters. Of them, 864 were judged to be "likely voters." Of them, 609 were registered Democrats or Independents who chose a Democratic ballot. Crosstabs reflect Likely Democratic Primary voters.