First off, I would like to congratulate the Boston Police Department for tracking down and capturing accused bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for his role in the Boston Marathon Bombing.
I admit I don't know how accurate Western New England University Polling Institute is but I figured I would give you their latest poll numbers for the 2013 Massachusetts Special Election to fill Secretary of State John Kerry's (D. MA) Senate seat:
http://www.masslive.com/...
A new poll conducted by the Western New England University Polling Institute is concluding that while U.S. Senate hopeful and Congressman Edward Markey, D-Mass., is the special election front-runner he is perceived to be, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch may be the Democrat best positioned to defeat any of the Republican candidates in the general election.
And while GOP candidate Michael Sullivan is slightly behind Cohasset businessman Gabriel Gomez, according to the poll, both men hold sizable leads over Republican state Rep. Daniel Winslow.
The survey, conducted by the university's polling institute through a partnership with The Republican/MassLive.com and CBS-3 Springfield, also determined that after eight days of polling, there are enough undecided voters in the race to sway its conclusion beyond what the current data show.
Markey, who emerged early as the Democratic Party's preferred U.S. Senate candidate, holds a 10-point lead over Lynch among likely Democratic primary voters. Within his own party, the lead increases by 10 points, as he bests Lynch 49 to 29 percent. - The Republican, 4/20/13
The poll shows Lynch with a 6 point lead over Markey with Independent voters, 41-35. The poll also shows that 21 percent of likely Democratic primary voters are still undecided. Both Markey and Lynch hold big leads over their GOP opponents but WNEU's poll shows Lynch with a bigger lead:
When Markey is placed against any of the Republican challengers, he leads by a margin of 15 to 19 percentage points. But when Lynch is placed against the Republican challengers, he leads by a margin of 32 to 36 percentage points.
"Markey has a comfortable lead over Lynch, but there is no doubt that Lynch is the stronger Democratic candidate in the general election," said Tim Vercellotti, professor of political science and director of the Polling Institute at Western New England University. "When placed in hypothetical general election match-ups, Markey has single-digit leads (over Republican candidates) with unenrolled voters but Lynch leads among independents 2-to-1."
In Massachusetts, independent, or unenrolled, voters, who can vote in either party's primary, constitute 52 percent of the electorate, making them a prize among political candidates.
The survey also found that Lynch is managing to attract support from up to 25 percent of Republican voters depending on the match-up. Markey draws support from between 9 and 13 percent of Republicans depending on the opponent. - The Republican, 4/20/13
WNEU's poll surveyed 582 adults ages 18 and older drawn from across Massachusetts using random-digit-dialing. The survey took place from April 11-18. They have a 4.5 point MOE with 480 general election likely voters and a 6 point MOE with 270 likely Democratic primary voters. Likely voters have a 41% favorable view of Lynch with an 18% unfavorable view. Markey's favorable ratings with likely general election voters is 39/24 and 5/15 with likely Democratic primary voters. On the Republican side, they polled 128 likely Republican primary voters with a 9 point MOE. Gomez leads with 33%, Sullivan with 27% and Winslow with 9%. The primary election is set for April 30th.
Also, the Boston Marathon bombing caused the 2nd debate between Markey and Lynch to be postponed but a date has now been scheduled for the 2nd debate:
http://www.masslive.com/...
After being postponed following the terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon on Monday, the Democratic candidates running for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts have agreed to a rescheduled Springfield debate to take place on Tuesday, April 23.
Late Thursday evening, the campaigns of Senate hopefuls and U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch of South Boston and U.S. Rep. Edward Markey of Malden came to an agreement with the Western Massachusetts Media Consortium to push the debate to the beginning of next week.
The debate will be conducted at WGBY-TV studios from 7 to 8 p.m. in a standard-format debate moderated by Jim Madigan, the public affairs director and host of several programs on the PBS affiliate.
The doors at the debate open to ticketholders at 6 p.m. and close at 6:30 p.m. for broadcast purposes. Although debate tickets for the original date will be honored on Tuesday, minus the stipend given to each campaign, there are no additional tickets available.
The event will also be broadcast on stations WGBY-TV, CBS-3 Springfield, ABC-40/FOX-6 and NBC-22, and air on New England Public Radio, 88.5 FM. - The Republican, 4/20/13
If you're a Massachusetts Democratic primary voter, please be sure to tune into the debate and to get out the vote for Ed Markey, the true Democrat in this race on April 30th! Markey holds strong and consistent progressive stances on the environment, health care, gun control, LGBT issues, a woman's right to choose and the middle-class whereas Lynch has voted against the Affordable Health Care Act, is pro-life, supported the Keystone XL Pipeline and opposed partner benefits and hate crimes legislation sponsored by gay-rights groups while a state Senator. Lynch has also flip flopped on his past opposition to an assault weapons ban. You can donate and get involved with the Markey campaign here:
http://www.edmarkey.com/
P.S. Say Dropkick Murphys play in Los Angeles earlier this week. They put on a kick ass show and did a big shout out to their home town of Boston and to everyone helping out in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombing. I leave you with this: