PROVIDENCE / 11:55 a.m. -- A new Brown University poll shows Democrat
Myrth York leading Republican Don Carcieri by 7 percentage points in a
tightening race for governor -- but a quarter of those surveyed were
still undecided.
The same polls shows that 62 percent of the voters surveyed want
embattled House Speaker John Harwood to resign.
The survey also shows that a growing number of Rhode Island voters
believe the state is moving in the wrong direction.
And the poll found that Rhode Island voters are divided about military
action in Iraq that would try and remove Saddam Hussein from power.
The survey was conducted over the previous three days -- Oct. 19-21 --
at Brown University by Darrell M. West, director of the Taubman Center
for Public Policy and the John Hazen White, Sr. Public Opinion
Laboratory. It is based on a statewide random sample of 418 likely
voters in Rhode Island. Overall, the poll had a margin of error of about
plus or minus 5 percentage points.
In the race for governor, York still holds a lead, but West senses a
tightening race. York was favored by 41 percent of the voters, while
Carcieri was favored by 34 percent. Twenty-five percent are undecided.
"We found that York still has a lead, but the race it tightening up
compared to where it was a month ago," West said. "I expect this to be a
competitive race to the end."
As evidence that the race is getting closer, West pointed to a Channel
12 poll shortly after the primary that showed York with a 14 percent
lead. He also noted a Carcieri poll last week that showed York ahead by
3 points.
Some have speculated that York has decided to launch negative television
ads against Carcieri because she senses Carcieri is catching up.
West isn't surprised that 25 percent of the voters haven't made up their
minds with Election Day two weeks away.
"When candidates start attacking each other, in the short run, it
freezes the electorate," West said.
Harwood received poor marks all around. The House Speaker has been
embroiled in a controversy over a worker's compensation settlement and
sexual harrasment allegations involving state worker Wendy Collins.
Sixty-two percent of voters believe that Harwood should step down as
speaker, 16 percent do not and 22 percent are unsure.
"He's now Public Enemy No. 1," West said. "Two-thirds of the voters want
him to resign. That's a big number."
When asked to rate his performance as House Speaker, 13 percent of the
voters surveyed said Harwood was doing an excellent or good job, 18
percent felt he was doing only fair, 44 percent believed his job
performance was poor, and 25 percent were unsure.
In a June survey by Brown, 25 percent said Harwood was doing a good or
excellent job, 21 percent said his job performance was only fair, 23
percent described it as poor, and 31 percent were unsure.
The statewide poll did not break out how voters in Harwood's Pawtucket
district feel about him. He faces a challenge Nov. 6 from write-in
candidate Bruce Bayuk.
The poll also chronicled a growing pessimism in Rhode Island. Fifty-two
percent believe the state is headed off on the wrong track, while 33
percent say it is going in the right direction. Last June, 43 percent
felt the state was headed in the right direction, while 43 percent
believed it was off on the wrong track.
Voters are divided about U.S. military action in Iraq that would try and
remove Saddam Hussein from power. Forty-seven percent approved military
action, 32 percent disapproved it, and 21 percent were undecided.
DIGITAL EXTRA: See complete poll results at:
http://www.insidepolitics.org/polls/rel1002.html
