Daily News

Poll: Warren’s Constituents Cool to Presidential Run

SPRINGFIELD — While progressive political organizations dream of convincing Senator Elizabeth Warren to run for president in 2016, a majority of Warren’s constituents think a presidential candidacy is a bad idea, according to the latest survey from the Western New England University Polling Institute. The telephone survey of 427 registered voters in Massachusetts, conducted April 6 – 14, found that 57% said that Warren seeking the presidency would be a bad idea, 32 percent said it would be a good idea, and 11% said they did not know or declined to answer the question. The survey has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus five percentage points. Warren has repeatedly said she has no plans to run for president in 2016, despite ongoing efforts by liberal political organizations to entice her to run. While a majority of voters in Massachusetts don’t think Warren should run for president, those sentiments do not necessarily reflect negative views of Warren. The survey found that 62% of voters approve of the job Warren is doing as senator, 21% disapprove, and 17% said they did not know or declined to answer the question. More thasn half (55%) of voters have a favorable view of Warren, and 30 percent of voters have an unfavorable view. The survey also found that:

• Governor Charlie Baker, after having served 100 days in office, has a job approval rating of 63%, with 10% of voters disapproving, and 27% saying they did not know or declining to answer the question; 56% of voters have a favorable view of Baker, while 13% hold an unfavorable view, marking an increase in Baker’s popularity since winning election as governor in November.

• Senator Ed Markey, who won re-election in November, has a job approval rating of 35%, with 18% of voters disapproving and nearly half of voters — 47% — either unable or unwilling to offer an opinion. Markey’s favorability rating is 35%, with 19% unfavorable, 15% saying they have not heard of him, and 27% saying they have no opinion of him. Markey’s unfavorability has dropped 10 points since October, while his favorability has remained steady.

After asking voters about a hypothetical Warren candidacy for president, the Polling Institute asked voters to explain, in their own words, why they think Warren running for president would be a good idea or a bad idea. Among voters who said a Warren White House bid would be a bad idea, the most frequent reason given was that Warren does not have enough experience yet to serve as president (38%). Meanwhile, 12% said Warren is too liberal, while another 12% said they don’t like Warren, or they don’t like her issue positions. Tim Vercellotti, director of the Polling Institute and a professor of political science at Western New England University, said that voters who think a Warren presidential candidacy is a bad idea are a mix of her detractors and supporters. “While there are plenty of voters who oppose the idea because they feel Warren is inexperienced or they don’t like her or her issue positions, there is also a significant number of voters who say she is doing a good job in the Senate and they want her to stay there,” he said. Democrats were almost evenly divided, with 42% saying a presidential run would be a good idea and 46% saying it would be a bad idea. Among Republican and unenrolled voters, more than 60% said they thought it would be a bad idea.