NBC10 Boston has teamed up with Suffolk University, the Boston Globe and Telemundo to take the temperature of voters heading into the general election season.
Democrat Maura Healey starts off the general election for governor of Massachusetts with a major advantage over Republican Geoff Diehl, according to a new poll.
The Suffolk University/Boston Globe/NBC10 Boston/Telemundo poll -- which includes all the candidates who qualified for the November ballot -- shows Healey with a 26-point lead over Diehl.
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Healey has 52% and Diehl 26% in the poll, conducted with 500 likely voters Sept. 10-13, after the Massachusetts primary elections. The general election is Nov. 8.
In the heavily Democratic commonwealth, Healey's lead doesn't come as a surprise, Suffolk pollster David Paleologos said.
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"Maura Healey has widespread support among numerous demographics: age, gender, geography, race, you name it," Paleologos said Wednesday.
Whomever wins the governor's race will inherit a state that most residents feel is doing well.
Asked if Massachusetts is heading in the right direction, 56% of those polled said yes, while 29% said the state is on the wrong track.
That result stands in stark contrast to Bay Staters' view of the United States. The same amount of people polled, 56%, said the country is on the wrong track. Just 28% said right direction.
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When asked who is most responsible for Massachusetts being headed in the right direction, it is outgoing Governor Charlie Baker who came out on top, with 36%. Just under one-quarter credited the state's Legislature, 15% said President Joe Biden and 13% said the economy in general is responsible.
More specifically on the economy, 41% polled believe the country is in a recession. Twenty-two percent say it is in stagnation, 20% believe the country is in economic recovery and 9% say depression.
"That doesn't necessarily translate into instant optimism, but less people view the economy as dire as they did a few months ago," Paleologos said.
Asked to give job approval, 48% said they approve of the job Biden is doing, while 43% disapprove.
A whopping 70% say they approve of the job Baker is doing, and just 18% saying they disapprove.
"It was an amazing result," Paleologos said. "For an incumbent politician, in these hostile times, it's so unusual to see a governor at 70% job approval."
Third-party candidates received enough votes in the primary that the Libertarian and Green-Rainbow designations could become official parties in Massachusetts this year, Paleologos said.
