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New polls find Patrick, Baker are neck and neck

Print | Comments () Posted by Martin Finucane October 29, 2010 12:10 PM

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By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

With the election looming ahead on Tuesday, two new polls are finding Democratic Governor Deval Patrick and Republican contender Charles D. Baker in a statistical tie in the race for governor.

A Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Wednesday found Patrick garnering support from 46 percent of likely voters, with Baker getting 44 percent. The poll's results were within the margin of error of the poll of plus or minus 4 percentage points, meaning the race is a statistical tossup.

"The Massachusetts governor’s race is now closer than it has been all year," the polling company said on its website, noting that Patrick has led the field since March.

The Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of 750 likely voters also found that independent candidate Tim Cahill had 6 percent of the vote, 3 percent preferred some other candidate, and 1 percent were undecided.

In a State House News Service poll that was also released today, Patrick won the votes of 40 percent of voters, Baker 37 percent, Cahill 9 percent, and Green-Rainbow Party candidate Jill Stein 3 percent. The telephone poll of registered voters taken Monday through Wednesday had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.8 percentage points.

A third poll released Thursday night found that Patrick held a slight lead. The Suffolk University/Channel 7 poll, conducted Monday to Wednesday, found Patrick leading Baker, 46 percent to 39 percent, with Cahill at 9 percent and Stein at 2 percent. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

The Suffolk poll also found that the races for treasurer and auditor remain neck-and-neck between the Republican and Democratic candidates, and that Attorney General Martha Coakley and Secretary of State William F. Galvin enjoy wide leads over their challengers.

A majority of voters, 51 percent, said they opposed a controversial ballot question that would cut the state sales tax rate from 6.25 percent to 3 percent, with 39 percent saying they supported it.