Voters: Gov’s vaccine rollout a flop
Most voters in the state, Republicans and Democrats alike, believe Gov. Charlie Baker has blundered the coronavirus vaccine rollout, according to new polling by the conservative watchdog group Mass Fiscal Alliance.
Out of 752 likely primary voters polled, 54% of Democrats and 52% of Republicans either “somewhat” or “strongly disapprove” of Baker’s vaccine rollout, according to the poll.
“Typically we’ve seen in polls in the past that Republican primary voters have started to turn a little bit on the governor. But in
this case, those primary voters are up 52% disapproving. What was very interesting was that the Democratic primary voters have also started to turn,” said Mass Fiscal spokesperson Paul Diego Craney.
Craney said in past polls, Democrats have expressed support for the governor, acting as “a bit of a base” for Baker. Craney mused whether former President Donald Trump’s exit from office has left the governor as the de facto target for Dems’ frustrations.
“That’s the first time I’ve seen something like this,” he said.
The poll was sponsored by Mass Fiscal Alliance and conducted Feb. 22-26 by Advantage Inc.
As of Sunday, half a million
residents of the commonwealth have been fully vaccinated. Another 1.2 million have received their first dose of the vaccine.
The data may indicate bad blood toward both the governor and his administration, which could haunt Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito should she run as Baker’s successor in an upcoming primary. Baker has not announced whether he will run for re-election in 2022, but the group also polled Bay Staters on who they would vote for in a primary should he decide to step away from the office.
On that subject, 21.7% of likely Republicans said they would vote for Polito in a primary. Craney said what’s notable is that Polito only slightly edged out former state Rep. Geoff Diehl, according to the poll. Diehl, who has not declared for the race, got support from 20.3% of Republicans polled.
“She should be performing, in my opinion, much better than this,” Craney said.
“This poll very much indi
cates that the primary is completely wide open if the governor doesn’t run for a third term,” he added.
On the Democratic side, pollsters asked voters about their support for candidates including former state Sen. Benjamin Downing, who has declared his candidacy, and Harvard professor Danielle Allen, who has formed an exploratory committee. The poll also gauged support for undeclared but highprofile Democrats including former Congressman Joe Kennedy III and Attorney General Maura Healey.
The fact that Healey hasn’t launched a campaign for governor hasn’t quieted speculation about the possibility or squelched her popularity: 35% of Democrats said they would vote for her in a primary, easily topping Kennedy, who registered 22% support.
Downing garnered 2% support and Allen 1.7%, while 39% of Democrats polled said they were undecided.