Poll indicates big boost in Patrick's lead

On the eve of today's gubernatorial debate, a poll released yesterday indicated that Democrat Deval L. Patrick has increased his lead over Republican Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, partly because of voter distaste for her attacks on Patrick.

Patrick, according to the 7News-Suffolk University poll, has a 27-point lead in the governor's race, as independent voters have abandoned Healey in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 7 election.

"The tone of the campaign has moved independents away from Healey," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, which conducted the poll. "The tone changed from constructive criticism to negative and really turned off independent voters."

Patrick had the support of 53 percent to Healey's 26 percent in the survey of 400 probable voters taken Oct. 20 through Oct. 23. The poll, which had a margin of error of 4.9 percentage points, gave independent Christy Mihos the support of 9 percent, while Green-Rainbow Party nominee Grace Ross had 2 percent. Eleven percent of probable voters remained undecided.

Sixty-one percent of those surveyed said the tone of Healey's campaign made them less likely to vote for her, and 53 percent said they had an unfavorable view of Healey. By contrast, 60 percent of voters had a positive view of Patrick, whose lead grew from 21 to 27 percentage points this month.

Healey's advisers insist that the overall political climate, not their advertisements, is hurting their candidate. The Healey campaign issued a press release yesterday afternoon that did not mention the poll, but said she would spend the rest of the campaign "highlighting her specific plans to make Massachusetts more affordable for families and more competitive for businesses."

She also contributed $600,000 more to her own campaign, records show. Healey's campaign has also released a new upbeat television ad that shows her in casual clothes and highlights her proposals for pension reforms, property taxes, veterans' benefits, and her opposition to giving driver's licenses and in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants.

During a visit yesterday to a charter school in Worcester, she didn't mention what has been a recurring them in ads and on the stump: Patrick's past support for convicted rapist Benjamin LaGuer. Patrick acknowledged writing letters on behalf of LaGuer, convicted of tying up and raping a 59-year-old Leominster neighbor in 1983.

Healey also sought to project a warmer image, playing with the children and listening as they sang a spelling song, even as she tried to accentuate differences with Patrick on the issue of school choice. Patrick has insisted on changing the funding formula for charter schools before a freeze on new charters is lifted. Healey wants the cap removed, and her campaign has sought to portray Patrick as beholden to teachers unions.

Patrick, following a campaign event yesterday at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, attributed his increased lead in the poll to voter fatigue with the "politics of fear and division."

Patrick followed US Senator John F. Kerry into the packed hall, where he told nearly 500 members of the disabled community that he would expand access to personal-care attendants, close the achievement gap, and improve voting access. "By the time of my reelection, I will assure you a confidential ballot if I have to come and pick it up myself and put it in a sealed box," he vowed.

Patrick said that during his tenure as assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Clinton administration, he addressed the discrimination that people with disabilities often face.

As in recent campaign events, Patrick highlighted the connection between decisions made on Beacon Hill and how the group he was addressing was hurt. He said the state has acknowledged an achievement gap while simultaneously cutting funding for special-needs students.

The governor's race continued to draw national coverage, earning a segment last night on ABC's World News. Broadcast from Boston, the newscast pointed out that either Healey or Patrick would make history as Massachusetts' next governor: Healey would be the first woman to be elected to the office, and Patrick would be the first African - American.

Material from the Associated Press and State House News Service was used in this report. April Simpson can be reached at asimpson@globe.com.