A new Boston Herald-Suffolk University poll released Monday shows that Democrat Martha Coakley and Republican Charlie Baker are basically tied in the Massachusetts governor's race.
The poll has Coakley with a slight edge, at 43.8 percent, compared to Baker's 43.2 percent. Independent Evan Falchuck came in at 2 percent, followed by independents Jeffrey McCormick at 1.6 percent and Scott Douglas Lively at 0.4 percent. Only 8.4 percent said they are undecided at this point.
The poll also addressed the recent incident where Baker called a female reporter "Sweetheart," asking voters if they felt the comment was condescending. Nearly half of those surveyed (47.2 percent) said no, 39.2 percent said yes and 13.6 percent said they were undecided.
When it comes to whether voters trust Baker to stand up for women's rights, 46.8 percent said they would trust the GOP candidate, while 34.2 percent said they would not. Another 19 percent were undecided.
Click here to view the full poll results.
Baker, Coakley, Falchuck, McCormick and Lively are all expected to participate in a televised debate at CityStage in Springfield on Monday night. The debate is sponsored by the Western Massachusetts Media Consortium. Jim Madigan of WGBY-TV will moderate.
