As White House Democrats prepare to stump in Massachusetts for Attorney General Martha Coakley in the governor’s race, a new Globe poll shows that national political conditions may be hobbling her chances for victory.
Republican Charlie Baker holds a slender lead of 2 percentage points over Coakley, 40 percent to 38 percent, an inversion of last week’s survey, in which Coakley was ahead by 3 percentage points. Among voters who said they will “definitely vote,” Baker enjoys an advantage of 41 percent to 37 percent.
That dynamic hints that Baker could benefit from a low-interest election, a possibility Coakley is looking to avoid by trying to fire up Democratic voters.
Two percentage points for a Republican is generally meaningless, given the Democrats’ superior get-out-the-vote effort. However, almost everything about the president and the party right now are dragging candidates down and Coakley, as we have seen in the past, is a fairly awful campaigner.
So, while it may be a bit early to get the champagne on ice, there is some good deep blue state news for the GOP.
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