U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren holds a “comfortable” lead over Republican challenger John Deaton in her bid to win a third term as a Massachusetts senator, according to a University of New Hampshire poll released Thursday.
The survey of 596 likely voters between Sept. 12 and Sept. 16 found that if the election for U.S. Senate were held today, 58% of those polled would cast their ballot for Warren while 32% would back Deaton, an attorney and veteran who moved to Massachusetts this year from Rhode Island.
“Warren enjoys the support of nearly all self-described progressives (99%) and liberals (96%) in the state, along with a majority of socialists (69%) and moderates (59%),” the poll said. “Deaton garners support from most libertarians (73%) and conservatives (71%).”
Another 7% of those surveyed would vote for another candidate while 3% of likely voters are unsure who they would back, according to the poll. More than 90% of Democrats and 47% of Independents support Warren while 91% of Republicans support Deaton, the survey said.
Spokespeople for Deaton and Warren did not immediately respond to Herald inquiries Friday morning.
Warren automatically advanced to the November election during her Democratic primary this month because she faced no challenger.
Deaton beat out two other conservatives — Quincy City Councilor Ian Cain and industrial engineer Bob Antonellis — during his Republican primary. Deaton earned more than 64% of the 217,963 votes cast compared to Antonellis’ 25% and Cain’s 9%, according to state data.
The poll was not all good news for Warren.
It found that the two-term Democrat from Cambridge is a “polarizing figure” in Massachusetts, with only 46% of likely voters holding a favorable opinion of her and 35% holding an unfavorable opinion.
It also identified a challenge for Deaton.
“Deaton is not well known among Massachusetts voters: 25% have (a favorable) opinion of him, 18% have an unfavorable opinion of him, 15% are neutral, and 42% don’t know enough about him to say,” the poll said. “Deaton is popular among Republicans but is somewhat unpopular among Democrats while Independents are largely neutral.”
Deaton could have a chance to change that in the coming months.
Warren has proposed two debates in October hosted in Boston and Springfield while Deaton has called on her to participate in five single-issue bouts on immigration, the economy, income inequality, foreign wars, and reproductive rights.
“We’ve accepted two general election debates in Boston and Springfield because the people of Massachusetts deserve a substantive policy conversation about abortion rights, the Supreme Court, funding for Medicare and Social Security, and other issues critical to our country’s future. We look forward to debating, and expect our Republican opponent to agree,” Warren’s campaign manager Janice Rottenberg said in a statement earlier this month.
