Mass. vote is a toss-up
Campaigns ramping up for Super Tuesday
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren are locked in a tight battle for Massachusetts, according to a new poll, as several presidential campaigns continue to ramp up their efforts here ahead of Super Tuesday.
Sanders finished with 21% support among likely Massachusetts Democratic primary voters in the UMass Lowell Center for Public Opinion poll released Friday, while Warren garnered 20% support in her home state.
“While Bernie Sanders has emerged as the front-runner in the race for the Democratic nomination, Warren registered her best debate performance to date in Nevada on Wednesday night and now looks to build on that momentum,” said Joshua Dyck, director of the Center for Public Opinion. “In order for her to emerge from the pack, she has to be able to not only pick up delegates, but beat Sanders in her home state on Super Tuesday.”
State Rep. Nika Elugardo, D-Boston, one of Sanders’ seven Massachusetts campaign co-chairs, told the Herald, “There’s been some great launches and momentum and that’s attached to the ability to get the message and the vision out.”
She added, “When we put that all together we won’t just win, I think Massachusetts and primaries, I think we will go beyond the presidential campaign and have a lot of wins for democracy and justice.”
Warren is flooding the Bay State with surrogates this weekend, including U.S. Reps. Lori Trahan and Jim McGovern, state Attorney General Maura Healey and state Auditor Suzanne Bump, who will all host canvass kickoffs.
Warren has been building a “statewide grassroots organization” since 2011 that “has expanded to include thousands of firsttime volunteers, small donors, and students, as well as veterans” of her Senate campaigns, her team said in an email.
But Warren’s lackluster finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire have put her home state more in play heading into the March 3 primary here, according to operatives and supporters of her rivals. Early voting starts Monday.
Campaigns ramping up in Massachusetts include those of former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who finished with 15% in the poll, former Vice President Joe
Biden, who got 14%, and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who got 12%. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar finished with 9%. U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is at 3% and businessman Tom Steyer has 2%. Four percent of respondents are undecided. The poll of 450 likely voters had a 6.1% margin of error.
“We are going to fight for every single vote here, and I think we’re going to surprise people,” said James Anderson, Bloomberg’s senior adviser for policy and strategy. The Bloomberg, Sanders and Buttigieg camps are all holding canvass kickoffs here this weekend, with actor Michael Douglas scheduled to appear at Bloomberg events Sunday in Quincy, Medford and Brookline.
The UMass Lowell poll also found that U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey are running neckand-neck in their Senate primary race, finishing with 35% and 34%, respectively, though 23% of voters remain undecided. Kennedy leads among likely voters who are men, older and moderates, while Markey leads among women, younger voters and liberals, the pollsters say.
John Cluverius, associate director of the Center for Public Opinion, said, “There are worrying signs for incumbent Ed Markey. Kennedy bests Markey on every dimension we asked about, including fighting for the environment, Markey’s signature issue.”