Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen leads by 3 points in a new Suffolk University/Boston Herald poll in her re-election bid against Republican Scott Brown after leading by 10 in the same poll in June.
More voters view Ms. Shaheen favorably than unfavorably, 49 percent versus 42 percent, while Mr. Brown has a 39 percent/49 percent favorable/unfavorable split.
“Despite her higher personal popularity, Shaheen’s 49 percent vote share has not increased since the last Suffolk poll, taken in June,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston. “With no third-party candidate on the ballot, she’ll be looking to earn the support of 1 to 2 of the remaining 6 points to reach the critical 50 percent mark. Otherwise, she’ll need a strong get-out-the-vote operation to win.”
Forty percent of those polled approve of President Obama’s job approval numbers, compared to 56 percent who disapprove, and 42 percent view him favorably compared to 53 percent who view him unfavorably.
But the poll said a Brown ad saying Ms. Shaheen voted with Mr. Obama 99 percent of the time — a line used by Republican Senate candidates around the country — didn’t move the needle significantly. Seventeen percent said it would make them more likely to vote for Ms. Shaheen, 35 percent less likely, and 44 percent said it would make no difference.
And while Ms. Shaheen and others have tried to hit Mr. Brown on women’s issues, 45 percent said they trust Mr. Brown on issues important to women and 44 percent said they did not.
Ms. Shaheen led among women, 51 percent to 42 percent, and trailed among men, 50 percent to 46 percent. She also led among lifelong New Hampshire residents, 52 percent to 43 percent, and broke even among likely voters who moved to the state from Massachusetts or other states. Mr. Brown used to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate.
The survey of 500 likely voters was taken Oct. 16-19 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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