Donald Trump Leads Poll of Massachusetts Republicans
Donald Trump in Worcester by Garrett Quinn
New York real estate mogul Donald Trump is still the top choice for Massachusetts Republicans in a new Suffolk University poll
Trump led the wide field of candidates with 32 percent of the vote, followed by Florida Senator Marco Rubio, with 18 percent, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, with 10 percent. All other candidates in the race were in the single digits, including retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, the steady second place finisher in most national polls.
An October poll by Emerson College found Trump with an even larger lead in the Bay State.
The Suffolk University poll of 134 self-identified Republicans found they are less likely to vote in the presidential primary than Democrats, but independent voters in the state told pollsters they are slightly more likely to pull a GOP ballot than a Democratic one in March.
The poll found Massachusetts Democrats continue to love former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Bay State Democrats gave Clinton 53 percent of the vote, far ahead of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who took home 29 and 3 percent of the vote, respectively.
Massachusetts issues were also a topic of the new poll, with Gov. Charlie Baker registering a commanding 70 percent favorable rating from residents across all demographics. Baker’s favorables continue to defy gravity almost a full year into his governorship. Just 15 percent of respondents gave him an unfavorable rating.
Baker’s comments about not accepting Syrian refugees into Massachusetts did not appear to hurt him much with voters, as 47 percent said they agreed with him, while 40 percent disagreed. In an unusual twist, 51 percent of poll respondents said they would welcome Syrian refugees to Massachusetts if they were properly vetted by the federal government.
No elected officials had unfavorable ratings over 35 percent.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was viewed favorably by 54 percent of respondents and negatively by just 15 percent.
