Poll: Markey has solid lead on Lynch in Mass. Senate race

Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) leads his challenger for the Democratic nomination for Massachusetts Senate, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), by a substantial margin in a new poll, and solidly outperforms the three Republican contenders, as well.

The University of Massachusetts Lowell/Boston Herald poll gives Markey 50 percent support to Lynch's 21 percent support among all registered voters, with an even more substantial lead — nearly 40 percentage points — among registered Democrats.
 
Lynch remains the underdog in the race, but nearly a quarter of registered voters polled said they were unsure of who they'd support.

And it's not low name recognition that's hurting Lynch — Massachusetts voters know who he is, they just haven't yet made up their minds. Forty-one percent of those polled said they had heard of Lynch but were unsure of whether they viewed him favorably or unfavorably.

That indicates the coming months of campaigning, during which the Democratic contenders will engage in six debates, will be pivotal for both candidates, but particularly Lynch, who would need to convince voters of his merits for the job.

Up against the three Republican contenders, both Markey and Lynch perform strongly, leading state Rep. Dan Winslow, local businessman Gabriel Gomez and former George W. Bush official Michael Sullivan by double-digit margins.

The poll was conducted by RKM Research among 589 registered voters from March 2-5, and has a margin of error of 4 percentage point for all registered voters, and 5.6 percentage points for potential Democratic primary voters.

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