Chafee in Close Senate Race
with Democratic Opponents; Brown Opens Slight Advantage Over Whitehouse in Democratic
Primary
A
statewide survey of 785
The
survey was conducted
If
the general election is held today, Senator Chafee has an advantage of 40 to 34
percent over Whitehouse (compared to his lead of 38 to 25 percent in September). If Brown is the Democratic nominee, Chafee’s
lead is to 38 to 36 percent (compared to 41 to 18 percent in September).
If
the Republican nominee is Mayor Laffey, Whitehouse is
ahead by 44 to 29 percent (up from the 35 to 25 percent Whitehouse had in September).
If the nominees are Laffey
and Brown, Brown has an advantage of 47 to 24 percent over Laffey
(up from 30 to 26 percent in September).
In
the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, Brown is the choice of 31 percent of
the 323 voters who indicated they were very likely to vote in the Democratic
primary, while 25 percent say they prefer Whitehouse, 0 percent say they plan
to vote for Carl Sheeler, and 44 percent are undecided. The margin of error in this likely Democratic
primary sample is plus or minus 5 percentage points. In September, Whitehouse had an advantage of 32
to 16 percent over Brown.
Governor
Donald Carcieri has a lead of 46 to 35 percent over
Democratic Lieutenant Governor Charles Fogarty. In September, Carcieri had a margin of 42 to 31 percent over Fogarty.
State Senator Elizabeth Roberts holds an advantage of 41
to 16 percent over Republican Kernan King in the contest for lieutenant governor.
Attorney-General Patrick Lynch is ahead of Republican
William Harsch by 59 to 18 percent in his re-election
bid.
In the Democratic primary for Secretary of State, North
Providence Mayor Ralph Mollis leads Guillaume de Ramel by 24 to 5 percent, with 71 percent undecided, among
the 323 voters who say they are very likely to vote in that primary.
Congressman Jim Langevin is
ahead of Jennifer Lawless by 58 to 14 percent with the 160 voters who indicate
they are very likely to vote in the second district’s Democratic primary. The margin of error in the second district
Democratic primary sample is plus or minus 7 percentage points.
In preparation for the
The
survey revealed that a majority of Rhode Islanders do not know official
evacuation routes or their closest designated emergency shelter and that many
do not have an emergency kit with food and water in case a hurricane strikes
Sixty-two percent indicate their residence would be
vulnerable if a major hurricane hit
Further
information on the survey can be found online at www.InsidePolitics.org. For more information, contact Darrell M. West
at (401) 863-1163.
Survey
Questions and Responses
If the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate were held
today, would you vote for: 31% Matt Brown, 0% Carl Sheeler, 25% Sheldon
Whitehouse, 44% don't know or no answer (based on 323 voters who say they are
very likely to vote in this year’s Democratic primary)
If the Democratic primary for U.S. Congress were held
today, would you vote for: 58% James Langevin, 14% Jennifer Lawless, 28% don't know or no answer (based on 160
voters who say they are very likely to vote in this year’s Democratic primary
in the second congressional district)
If the Democratic primary for secretary of state were
held today, would you vote for: 24% Ralph
Mollis, 5% Guillaume de Ramel,
71% don't know or no answer (based on 323
voters who say they are very likely to vote in this year’s Democratic primary)
If
the U.S. Senate election were held today, would you vote for: 38% Republican
If
the U.S. Senate election were held today, would you vote for: 40%
Republican
If
the U.S. Senate election were held today, would you vote for: 24%
Republican Stephen Laffey, 47% Democrat Matt Brown, 29%
don’t know or no answer
If
the U.S. Senate election were held today, would you vote for: 29% Republican
Stephen Laffey, 44% Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, 27%
don’t know or no answer
If
the governor’s election were held today, would you vote for: 46% Republican
Don Carcieri, 35% Democrat Charles Fogarty, 19% don’t
know or no answer
If the lieutenant governor’s election were held today,
would you vote for: 16% Republican
Kernan King, 41% Democrat Elizabeth Roberts, 43% don't know or no
answer
If the attorney-general’s election were held today,
would you vote for: 18% Republican
William Harsch, 59% Democrat Patrick Lynch, 23% don't know or no answer
How likely do you think it is that a major hurricane
will strike
If a major hurricane hit
If a major hurricane hit
If you had to evacuate to another community, do you have
someone you could stay with? 82% yes, 15% no, 3% don’t know or no answer
Would you be most likely to evacuate by: 87% your own car or truck, 7% a friend or relative’s car or truck, 1% bus, 0% taxi, 0% train, 1% plane, 4% don’t know or no answer
Have you prepared an emergency kit with food and water
in case a hurricane strikes
Do you know the official evacuation route that
authorities want you to take in case of an emergency? 28% yes,
68% no, 4% don’t know or no answer
Do you know where your closest designated emergency
shelter is located? 42% yes, 56% no, 2% don’t know or no answer
How many times during the day do you hear a weather
forecast? 2% none, 39% once or twice, 34% three or four times, 12% five or six times, 12%
seven or more times, 1% don’t know or no
answer
How confident are you in the ability of the government
to help you and your family in case of natural disasters? 10% very confident, 40% somewhat confident, 47% not very confident, 3% don’t know or no answer
Which of the following would
make you likely to obey an evacuation order:
-the U.S. Weather Service
issuing a hurricane warning? 60% yes, 34% no,
6% don’t know or no answer
-a media outlet reporting an
evacuation order? 68% yes, 24% no, 8% don’t know or no answer
-a government official telling
you to evacuate? 77% yes, 16% no, 7% don’t know or no answer
-a friend or relative saying you should evacuate? 29% yes,
58% no, 13%
don’t know or no answer
Which of the following factors
would make it difficult for you to comply with an official evacuation order:
-not having a car? 37% yes, 60% no, 3% don’t know or no answer
-having to care for someone who would have difficulty
leaving? 36% yes, 60% no,
4% don’t know or no answer
-needing to protect home from theft? 20% yes,
76% no, 4% don’t know or no answer
-not believing the storm would be very bad in your area?
31% yes, 60% no, 9% don’t know or no answer
-not trusting government officials? 26% yes, 63% no, 11% don’t know or no answer
-not trusting media reporting? 27% yes,
62% no, 11% don’t know or no answer
How close do you live either to
How long have you lived in