A month before the election a new WPRI poll shows Rhode
Islanders comfortably support both progressive politicians as well as
progressive policy proposals.
The big news from the new poll for both politicos and
progressives is that Congressman David Cicilline leapfrogged Brendan Doherty since the
last WPRI polland the liberal incumbent now leads the conservative
challenger by six percentage points.
“The new survey of 250 likely voters in Rhode Island’s 1st
Congressional District shows Democrat Cicilline at 44%, Republican Doherty at
38% and independent David Vogel at 6%, with 10% of voters undecided. That’s a
21-point swing since the February WPRI 12 poll,
when Doherty led Cicilline 49% to 34%,” wrote Ted Nesi about Cicilline’s surge.
Pollster Joe Fleming said he was “surprised” at the size of the
turnaround but I’m not. Rhode Islanders lean left and one of the candidates is
and one isn’t liberal. While Doherty will continue to go negative against
Cicilline, at the end of the day the incumbent isn’t nearly as toxic as is the
Republican brand in the first congressional district.
Similarly, popular progressive Senator Sheldon Whitehouse holds a “commanding” lead over his
“little-known” challenger Barry Hinckley. “Whitehouse leads
among every subgroup of voters except Republicans,” writes Nesi. “The Democrat
has a 26-point lead among women, a 26-point lead among voters ages 60 and
older, and a nine-point lead among independents.”
Like the most progressive members of the congressional
delegation, progressive policy proposals also fared well in the poll – most notably marriage equality.
“Same-sex marriage enjoys significant support in Rhode Island,
with 56% of voters in favor of legalizing it, 36% opposed to doing so and 14%
unsure,” according to WPRI. “Support is strongest among
Democrats (72% in favor) and voters ages 18 to 39 (64% in favor), while
opposition is highest among Republicans (59% opposed) and voters 60 and older
(43% opposed).”
The overwhelming support for marriage equality could turn some
State House politicians who were on the fence because they may have thought
their constituents didn’t support equality.
“Every day more Rhode Islanders are raising a voice in support
of marriage equality and this poll should serve as a wake up call to those
politicians who continue to oppose equal rights. We look forward to working
with legislators from both sides of the aisle when the General Assembly returns
in January to finally make Rhode Island a state that honors the commitments and
values the worth of all families,” said Ray Sullivan of Marriage Equality Rhode
Island in a statement.
One poll question shows Rhode Islanders overwhelmingly
supporting protecting Medicare over paying down the national debt by a 64 percent to 32 percent margin. Another
shows that while the economy and jobs is the most important issue to Rhode Islanders,
with 54 percent of respondents saying so, more than twice as many (18 percent)
said healthcare was the most important issue than said taxes (8 percent).
WPRI does a great job putting all their poll results into an interactive graphic that
is really fun to play around with.
Later today, the TV station will release the results of poll
questions pertaining to Gov. Linc Chafee, Treasurer Gina Raimondo, Providence
Mayor Angel Taveras and President Obama.
Bob Plain is the editor/publisher of Rhode Island's Future. Previously, he's
worked as a reporter for several different news organizations both in Rhode
Island and across the country.
