The Fiscal Alliance Foundation released the results of a poll today that sampled Massachusetts voters on a wide range of policies and topics including the 62F Tax Rebate Law, Rent Control, and a hypothetical Baker/Warren U.S. Senate contest.
A copy of the toplines is available here.
A copy of the crosstabs is available here.
This is the second poll released by the Fiscal Alliance Foundation since the beginning of the year, and it sampled 750 likely voters on both cell phones and landlines between May 6 and May 7.
The top of the tickets saw little movement from the Foundation’s January poll. President Joe Biden’s approval remained slightly above 50%, coming in at roughly 52% somewhat and strongly favorable, while former President Donald Trump measured about 60% unfavorable. Governor Maura Healey’s overall favorability and unfavorable numbers also remained consistent with the poll in January. 50% overall favorable in January and 52% in May, 27% unfavorable in January and May, and 23% unsure in January and 21% unsure in May.
“Clearly people have cemented their opinions on President Biden and former President Trump and we saw little movement since January. For Governor Healey, her favorable and unfavorable remained pretty consistent with January’s poll. However, after five months as Governor, one in five Massachusetts voters are still unsure how they feel about the Governor,” noted Paul D. Craney, a spokesman for the Fiscal Alliance Foundation.
The poll also asked likely voters several questions regarding the Chapter 62F Tax Rebate Law. Three out of five Massachusetts voters support the Chapter 62F Tax Rebate Law as is, and more than 80% total either support it outright or support it with changes. Only 7% of those surveyed thought the law deserved to be repealed. In regard to the legislature’s specific planned changes to the Chapter 62F law, 56% of those surveyed opposed their plan, 18.5% supported it, and 25% were unsure either way. That should send a clear warning to Speaker Ron Mariano who is leading the effort to change the law, that a majority of voters do not support the Speaker’s attempt.
“The Chapter 62F law is widely popular, with Democratic, Republican, and Independent Unenrolled voters all showing a strong preference for keeping the law as it is currently written. This is the third poll to show this, which indicates deep, lasting support. Even when given the specifics of the Speaker’s plan, less than one in five supported changing the law. The push to water down the tax rebate law seems to be an insider’s push because the people of the state don’t show any inclinations towards making changes. If lawmakers want to respect the will of the voters, they should not disturb the law,” noted Craney.
The poll also asked questions regarding Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and specifically gauged opinions on her controversial proposal to reinstate rent control in the city of Boston. 47% of those surveyed had a favorable opinion of Mayor Wu, 30% had an unfavorable, while 22% were unsure. When asked whether they supported Mayor Wu’s plan to reimpose rent control in the city of Boston, 41% supported the proposal, while 39% opposed the plan and 20% remained unsure. This is considered within the margin of error.
“Mayor Wu’s favorable numbers are the lowest among the three Massachusetts elected officials we polled and the Mayor’s unfavorable numbers are higher than Governor Healey’s. On the Mayor’s rent control proposal, voters are roughly split with a slight edge that is within the margin of error showing support. Mayor Wu is seeking to overturn the will of the voters but she is doing so without having a majority support for her policy. This doesn’t bode well if the Mayor is considering a referendum question in 2024. The legislature is correct to be skeptical of Mayor Wu’s efforts to overturn the will of the voters and reimposing rent control,” noted Craney.
The poll also asked several questions about Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is seeking reelection in 2024. Warren’s approval among those surveyed was 49% approving, 44% disapproving, and 7% unsure. When asked about a hypothetical head-to-head with former Republican Governor Charlie Baker, 49% of those surveyed indicated they would support Baker for U.S. Senate, while only 34% would support Warren.
“Senator Warren has significantly higher unfavorable numbers than her fellow Democrats statewide and that seems to be creating an opening for Baker, who always enjoyed large amounts of cross-party appeal. Looking at the cross tabs, Republicans seem to coalesce behind Baker (79%) in a way that Democrats do not around Warren (56%), and Baker leads with independent/unenrolled voters 2-1 at 57-26%,” noted Craney.
“It’s interesting that Baker receives such solid support from Republicans, a group that he began having such trouble with during his second term. Senator Warren may be doing more to unite the state Republican party than anyone might realize. It also points towards something we see through several of the questions we surveyed on— the 62F tax rebates may have been distributed last year, but people still remember them fondly and continue to appreciate their former Governor who shepherded them through,” closed Craney.
The poll surveyed 750 people and was in the field on May 6 and 7, 2023. The margin of error is 3.6% at a 95% confidence level.