Chafee Leads Whitehouse
and Brown; Carcieri Leads Fogarty
A
statewide survey of 470
PROVIDENCE,
R.I. —
Former Rhode Island Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse would give Republican U.S.
Sen. Lincoln Chafee a race, according to a new statewide survey conducted by
researchers at Brown University. If the 2006 U.S. Senate election were held
today, 41 percent of voters would support Chafee while 36 percent would back
Whitehouse. Among women, Chafee leads Whitehouse 42 to 34 percent, while
leading by only 42 to 40 percent among men.
Neither
man, however, does a very good job of holding onto the support of his party’s
faithful. Among Democrats, Whitehouse led Chafee only 51 to 31 percent, while
among Republicans Chafee led Whitehouse 46 to 32 percent. Despite the apparent
competitiveness of this race, Chafee’s job approval score is above the crucial
50 percent threshold of support, with 53 percent of voters rating his
performance either good or excellent (up from 48 percent in a February survey).
Among independent voters, Chafee led Whitehouse 48 to 31 percent.
The
survey was conducted
The
survey also pitted the incumbent, Chafee, against Democrat and current Rhode
Island Secretary of State Matt Brown. Chafee led Brown among all voters 44 to
29 percent. These numbers are an improvement for each man since February, when
Chafee led Brown 39 to 25 percent. Among women, Chafee led Brown 42 to 30
percent, while holding a 48 to 28 percent lead among men. Among Democrats,
Chafee only trailed Brown by 6 points (37 to 43 percent), while leading Brown
among Republicans 46 to 23 percent. Independents broke more than two to one for
Chafee over Brown (51 to 24 percent).
If
the Republican candidate were Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey, Whitehouse leads
the mayor 45 to 32 percent. Among Republicans, Laffey is ahead 65 to 16
percent, while Whitehouse has a strong lead over Laffey among Democrats (69 to
14 percent) and a narrower lead among Independents (41 to 37 percent). Among
women, Whitehouse enjoys a 14-point lead (45 to 31 percent) over Laffey, while
Whitehouse leads 47 to 36 percent among men.
In a
match-up pitting Laffey against Brown, voters break 40 to 30 percent for Brown.
This is an improvement for Brown over the February poll, when he led Laffey 30
to 27 percent. Among women, Brown is ahead 38 to 28 percent (compared to 29 to
26 percent in the previous poll), while with men, he leads Laffey 45 to 33
percent (34 to 29 percent in February). Among Republicans, Laffey is ahead of
Brown 56 to 16 percent (compared to 68 to 6 percent in the poll conducted
earlier this year). Among Democrats, Brown leads 62 to 11 percent (
Gov.
Donald Carcieri has a lead over his presumed Democratic rival, Lt. Gov. Charles
Fogarty. If the election were held today, Carcieri leads 48 to 39 percent
(Carcieri led 44 to 33 percent in the poll conducted earlier this year). Among
Republicans, Carcieri leads Fogarty 88 to 7 percent (relatively unchanged from
February’s 89 to 6 percent finding), while Fogarty is ahead with Democrats 63
to 25 percent (an improvement over his 55 to 24 percent February showing).
Carcieri also enjoys a 21-point margin with Independents, 55 to 34 percent.
Among men, Carcieri leads 49 to 43 percent (down from 51 to 33 percent in
February) and leads 48 to 37 percent among women. The latter is a strong
improvement for Carcieri over February when he led among women 40 to 36
percent.
When
asked about the job performance of various public officials, 57 percent feel
Carcieri is doing a good job as governor (unchanged from February’s 57
percent). Fifty-three percent believe Fogarty is doing a good job as lieutenant
governor (up from 46 percent). Forty-nine percent think Attorney General
President
George Bush’s support within the state has decreased as only one-quarter of
Rhode Islanders believe he is doing an excellent or good job. This is a 6-point
drop from February when 31 percent approved of his performance. Seventy-one percent
of
Forty-three
percent believe the state is headed in the right direction, while 44 percent
feel it is headed on the wrong track. In the February survey, 52 percent
believed the state was headed in the right direction while 26 percent stated
that the state was headed on the wrong track.
Among
issues under consideration at the state house or in the public eye, 67 percent
of voters support the recently passed state bill that would legalize the use of
marijuana for medicinal purposes. Sixty-six percent of state voters support
federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Fifty-five percent of state
voters believe
For
more information, contact Brett M. Clifton at (401) 863-9335.
Survey
Questions and Responses
If
the U.S. Senate election were held today, would you vote for: 44% Republican
If
the U.S. Senate election were held today, would you vote for: 41% Republican
If
the U.S. Senate election were held today, would you vote for: 30% Republican
Stephen Laffey, 40% Democrat Matt Brown, 29% don’t know or no answer
If
the U.S. Senate election were held today, would you vote for: 32% Republican
Stephen Laffey, 45% Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, 22% don’t know or no answer
If the
governor’s election were held today, would you vote for: 48% Republican Don
Carcieri, 39% Democrat Charles Fogarty, 13% don’t know or no answer
How
would you rate the job George W. Bush is doing as president? 5% excellent,
19% good, 30% only fair, 44% poor, 2% don’t know or no answer
How
would you rate the job Jack Reed is doing as
How
would you rate the job Lincoln Chafee is doing as U.S. Senator? 10%
excellent, 43% good 26% only fair, 16% poor, 6% don’t know or no answer
How
would you rate the job Patrick Kennedy is doing as U.S. Representative? 14%
excellent, 42% good, 24% only fair, 13% poor, 7% don’t know or no answer
How
would you rate the job Jim Langevin is doing as U.S. Representative? 15%
excellent, 48% good, 17% only fair, 5% poor, 15% don’t know or no answer
How
would you rate the job Don Carcieri is doing as governor? 21% excellent, 36%
good, 25% only fair, 15% poor, 4% don’t know or no answer
How
would you rate the job Charles Fogarty is doing as lieutenant governor? 8%
excellent, 44% good, 18% only fair, 3% poor, 25% don’t know or no answer
How
would you rate the job
How
would you rate the job Matt Brown is doing as secretary of state? 5%
excellent, 37% good, 21% only fair, 3% poor, 34% don’t know or no answer
How
would you rate the job Paul Tavares is doing as general treasurer? 6% excellent,
32% good, 19% only fair, 4% poor, 38% don’t know or no answer
How
would you rate the job Joseph Montelbano is doing as Senate President? 2%
excellent, 15% good, 22% only fair, 15% poor, 46% don’t know or no answer
How
would you rate the job William Murphy is doing as Speaker of the House? 3%
excellent, 21% good, 24% only fair, 20% poor, 31% don’t know or no answer
How
would you rate the job David Cicilline is doing as mayor of
How
would you rate the job Stephen Laffey is doing as mayor of
How
would you rate the job Frank Williams is doing as chief justice of the Rhode
Island Supreme Court? 7% excellent, 27% good, 18% only fair, 8% poor, 37%
don’t know or no answer
Generally
speaking, would you say things in
Do
you favor or oppose a bill that would legalize the use of marijuana for
medicinal purposes? 67% favor, 22% oppose, 9% don’t know or no answer
Do
you think the
Do
you believe
Should
Should
changes in the state pension system be applied to judges, prison guards, and
state troopers? 71% yes, 10% no, 14% don’t know or no answer
Do
you think
Do
you favor or oppose the expansion of liquefied natural gas facilities in