BOSTON, June 24 (UPI) -- Democrat Edward Markey is 10 percentage points ahead of Republican Gabriel Gomez in Massachusetts's U.S. Senate special election, a Suffolk Poll showed Monday.
The day before voters head to the polls to elect a successor to Secretary of State John Kerry, the poll indicated 52 percent of the voters favored Markey, a U.S. representative, and 42 percent preferred Gomez, a businessman. Richard Heos of the Twelve Visions Party polls at 1 percent; 4 percent said they are undecided; and 1 percent refused to respond.
"These numbers suggest that tomorrow night Ed Markey will make the transformation from congressman to senator-elect," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston. "All eyes will be watching to see how Markey's final vote tally stacks up against Elizabeth Warren's 8-point win over Scott Brown last November."
The same poll indicated President Obama's favorability ratings have declined from 67 percent favorable and 29 percent unfavorable in May, to 53 percent favorable to 43 percent unfavorable now.
Obama's job performance ratings also have fallen from 63 percent approve to 32 percent disapprove in May to 47 percent approve to 43 percent disapprove today.
Results are based on statewide surveys of 500 likely voters conducted Wednesday through Saturday. The margin of error is 4.4 percentage points.
