Democrats in Massachusetts are on board with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren running for reelection next year but are less interested in President Joe Biden seeking a second term, according to a new poll.
The MassINC Polling Group survey also indicated that some Massachusetts residents are still getting to know Gov. Maura Healey about a month into her tenure, and found that economic issues are top of mind for many.
The online survey was conducted Jan. 30 to Feb. 2, the week before Biden's State of the Union address. The 986 respondents had mixed reviews for the president, with 43% thinking of him favorably and 42% unfavorably. Most — 59% — said he should not run for a second term, while 22% said he should.
While Warren’s favorability numbers fell in a similar range, more backed her running for a third term (43%) than not (36%). Among Democrats, support for the senator’s reelection bid was higher, with 65% wanting her to run.
“She's doing fine as far as her reelection numbers go,” said Steve Koczela, president of The MassINC Polling Group. “Joe Biden, on the other hand, has a bigger problem. Even among Democrats, only 35% think he should run again, and that's not a show of strength. That's enough to give potential challengers voters to talk to, room to breathe, room to run and potential support to gain.”
Healey, who served eight years as the Massachusetts attorney general before taking office as governor last month, was less well-known among respondents than either Biden or Warren.
Fifteen percent of poll respondents said they’d never heard of the new governor, and more than one in five were undecided in their opinion of Healey. Forty-two percent said they view her favorably, and 21% unfavorably.
Bay Staters were even less familiar with U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark of Revere, the number-two Democrat in the U.S. House. Fifty-four percent of respondents said they hadn’t heard of Clark and 22% said they had no opinion of her.
Koczela said that because Healey had an easy path to election last year, voters didn’t have to tune in much during the campaign cycle.
“It may be that, as she continues through her term, that voters tune in more and get to know a few of her policies and get used to her as governor and more start to form an opinion of her,” he said.
On the campaign trail and in her initial public appearances as governor, Healey has spotlighted affordability as one of the key challenges facing the state. The MassINC poll suggests that’s an area where her constituents will be watching.
Nineteen percent of respondents said the economy and jobs are the most important issues for Healey and state lawmakers to address, with 18% percent naming housing costs and homelessness and 16% saying inflation and cost of living. Another top issue was public safety, at 15%.
