Poll: Less than a quarter of Massachusetts residents want President Biden to run for re-election.
A plurality support Sen. Warren running for another term.
Gov. Maura Healey begins term with positive favorables, but many residents have yet to form an opinion.
Even before he announced, a plurality thought Tom Brady should retire.
In the week leading up to President Biden’s State of the Union, residents of deep blue Massachusetts expressed mixed views of the Commander in Chief. Residents split nearly evenly between offering a favorable (43%) or unfavorable (42%) opinion of him. Only 22% say they want Biden to run for re-election, including 35% of self identified Democrats.
That’s according to a new poll of 986 Massachusetts residents sponsored and conducted by The MassINC Polling Group. The poll was conducted January 30 to February 2, 2023.
“President Biden’s numbers are not looking good almost halfway through his term,” said Steve Koczela, President of The MassINC Polling Group. “Massachusetts was one of his best states in the 2020 election, which makes low support for a reelection bid troubling for his campaign.”
The survey also asked voters what traits mattered most – and least – to them in considering presidential candidates. Honesty, trustworthiness, and toughness topped the list, while a candidate's age, gender, and race were seen as less important to residents’ decision.
Views of Elizabeth Warren
The Commonwealth’s senior senator is also up for reelection in 2024, and residents express only slightly more favorable views of her. Less than half (41%) view Senator Elizabeth Warren favorably, compared to 36% with an unfavorable opinion. Those numbers nearly mirror those who think Warren should run again (43%) or not (36%). On this question, Warren is faring better than Biden in her own party, with 65% of Democrats supporting another run.
Healey, Clark are less well-known as they assume powerful new roles.
New Governor Maura Healey is viewed more favorably (42%) than not (21%), but a sizable portion remain unfamiliar with her or undecided. A majority (54%) have never heard of Representative Katherine Clark, who as Democratic Whip is now one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress. More Massachusetts residents have heard of embattled New York Republican Representative George Santos (75%) than of Clark (45%).
Economic issues top residents’ priority list.
Healey takes office with only about half (51%) saying the Commonwealth is headed in the right direction, while 30% say things are off on the wrong track. That’s a more positive review than residents give the nation as a whole, where 29% say the country is headed in the right direction (57% wrong track). Economic issues like jobs, housing costs, inflation and the cost of living generally top residents’ list of key issues for the new governor and other lawmakers to tackle. Climate change was much lower down residents’ list of priorities, despite a majority of residents thinking this year’s warm winter weather is a new normal driven by climate change (57%) and not just an unusually warm year (31%).
Biden and Warren weren’t the only figures whose futures the poll asked about. A plurality (41%) thought that former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady should hang up his shoulder pads after his Tampa Bay Buccaneers were bounced out of the NFL playoffs in the first round. A quarter (24%) hoped that he would return to the Pats. Over 90% of the poll’s responses had been collected before Brady announced, on February 1, that he was indeed retiring, this time “for good”.
Despite their respective lackluster seasons, both Brady (62%) and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick (55%) are still viewed favorably by majorities of residents.
About the poll
These results are based on a survey of 986 Massachusetts residents. Responses were collected via online survey January 30 – February 2, 2023. The data was weighted by race, age, gender, education, geography, and party identification to reflect known and estimated population parameters for Massachusetts residents. The credibility interval for this survey is +/- 3.4 percentage points for the entire sample, including the design effect. These questions were sponsored by The MassINC Polling Group.
About The MassINC Polling Group
The MassINC Polling Group is a nonpartisan public opinion research firm serving public, private, and social-sector clients. MPG elevates the public's voice with cutting edge methods and rigorous analysis. Based in Boston, MPG serves a nationwide client base.