shows solid support for Romney, an opening for ReillyBOSTON -- Nearly two-thirds of Massachusetts voters have a favorable impression of Gov. Mitt Romney and more than half think it's OK for him to leave the door open for a run for president even as he campaigns for a second term as governor, a new poll found.
But Romney's re-election is far from assured, with Romney and top Democratic rival Attorney General Tom Reilly running in a statistical dead heat for governor according to the University of Massachusetts poll.
The poll, conducted by the university's Lowell campus, also found that voters are more likely to trust state lawmakers than Romney when it comes to decisions about taxes and program cuts.
Poll results
The telephone poll of 403 Massachusetts voters had generally good news for Romney as he begins to ramp up for next year's governor's race.
The poll found 62 percent said they have a very or somewhat favorable opinion of the Republican governor, up from 54 percent in September. The poll also found the number of voters who think the state is going in the right direction is growing.
A majority of voters, 57 percent, also said Romney can toy with the idea of running for president in 2008 and doesn't need to give an ironclad promise to serve all four years if he is elected governor next year.
That doesn't mean Romney has his home state locked up in any presidential race. Half of those polled say they would oppose him for president while just 36 percent would support him.
The poll also had some conflicting results. Despite a positive view of Romney, 49 percent said it's "time for a change" compared to 43 percent who said Romney should be re-elected.
"It's interesting, but irrelevant," said Romney's communications director, Eric Fehrnstrom. "The last poll I saw had John Kerry winning the White House. We don't take them all that seriously, particularly at this early stage."
For Reilly, who has yet to announce his candidacy for governor, the poll held a kernel of good news. The poll had 45 percent of voters choosing Reilly and 41 percent choosing Romney in a head to head match, a statistical dead heat.
Romney did much better against another potential Democratic challenger, state Secretary William Galvin, who polled just 35 percent of voters compared to 43 for Romney.
But Reilly faces some daunting tasks. Many more voters say they don't know him, 18 percent, compared to just 2 percent for Romney.
"We don't pay a lot of attention to polls this far out from the election. Our focus in on doing our jobs and getting things done," said Reilly adviser Stephen Bilafer.
Voters also sounded a fickle note when it came to taxes. Given the choice between higher taxes or cuts to state programs, more thought lawmakers should chose taxes over cuts. But a majority said they support Gov. Mitt Romney's pledge not to raise taxes.
Romney's frequent business trips out of state hasn't hurt him with voters, as 45 percent said those trips have helped Massachusetts compared to 39 percent who said the trips hurt.
The poll was conducted from January 24 through January 27. The margin of error was plus or minus five percentage points.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/02/08/poll_shows_solid_support_for_romney_an_opening_for_reilly/
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