Poll puts Murray on top in lt. governor race

David A. Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, said Mr. Murray’s poll success is largely the result of his strong appeal in his home region of Central Massachusetts. The poll showed Mr. Murray with 26 percent of the likely vote west of Worcester, while Ms. Goldberg got only 3 percent and Ms. Silbert, 1 percent in the region.

“He gained some regional traction,” Mr. Paleologos said. “If you look at what drove Murray’s numbers up, it was people responding in Worcester County and west.”

Mr. Paleologos noted, however, that the huge pool of undecided voters in the primary is still up for grabs. He said that Ms. Goldberg, who began a high-profile television advertising campaign over the weekend, has probably not yet begun to see the results of her ads.

The sampling of voters’ preferences in the lieutenant governor’s race four weeks before the Sept. 19 primary election was part of a bigger poll of 600 voters’ leanings in the six-person gubernatorial field.

That poll found that Christopher F. Gabrieli has leapfrogged former poll frontrunner Deval L. Patrick and early favorite Thomas F. Reilly in the governor’s race.

After spending more than $7 million, Mr. Gabrieli, a Boston venture capitalist, has built up a six-point lead over Mr. Patrick, with the support of 32 percent of likely voters in the party primary, the poll found.

Mr. Patrick, a lawyer and businessman, polled at 24 percent, and Mr. Reilly, the state’s attorney general, garnered 20 percent.

Mr. Paleologos, the poll director, said that Mr. Patrick, who also started a TV ad campaign over the weekend, may not have seen its results reflected in the poll yet. Mr. Gabrieli, on the other hand, who has been advertising heavily since June, has likely benefited from the cumulative results of the publicity, he said.

The 7NEWS/Suffolk poll also showed that Mr. Gabrieli would be the strongest candidate to defeat Republican Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey in the final election in November. The poll revealed that Mr. Gabrieli would beat Ms. Healey by 21 percent, with Mr. Reilly beating her by 9 percent and Mr. Patrick overcoming the lieutenant governor by 8 percent.

Independent gubernatorial candidate Christy Mihos did not exceed 10 percent of likely voters in any matchup. Green Rainbow Party nominee Grace Ross of Worcester did not top 2 percent in any of the general election matchups.

The poll was conducted from last Thursday through Monday. It has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

All 600 respondents said they were registered voters and had voted in the 2002 election for governor.

The 7NEWS/Suffolk University poll had Mr. Murray in first place with 11 percent, followed by former Brookline selectman Deborah B. Goldberg with 6 percent, and Andrea C. Silbert of Harwich, founder of a women’ entrepreneurial training center, with 5 percent.

Seventy-eight of the 369 potential voters polled indicated no preference for any of the three candidates.

David A. Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, said Mr. Murray’s poll success is largely the result of his strong appeal in his home region of Central Massachusetts. The poll showed Mr. Murray with 26 percent of the likely vote west of Worcester, while Ms. Goldberg got only 3 percent and Ms. Silbert, 1 percent in the region.

“He gained some regional traction,” Mr. Paleologos said. “If you look at what drove Murray’s numbers up, it was people responding in Worcester County and west.”

Mr. Paleologos noted, however, that the huge pool of undecided voters in the primary is still up for grabs. He said that Ms. Goldberg, who began a high-profile television advertising campaign over the weekend, has probably not yet begun to see the results of her ads.

The sampling of voters’ preferences in the lieutenant governor’s race four weeks before the Sept. 19 primary election was part of a bigger poll of 600 voters’ leanings in the six-person gubernatorial field.

That poll found that Christopher F. Gabrieli has leapfrogged former poll frontrunner Deval L. Patrick and early favorite Thomas F. Reilly in the governor’s race.

After spending more than $7 million, Mr. Gabrieli, a Boston venture capitalist, has built up a six-point lead over Mr. Patrick, with the support of 32 percent of likely voters in the party primary, the poll found.

Mr. Patrick, a lawyer and businessman, polled at 24 percent, and Mr. Reilly, the state’s attorney general, garnered 20 percent.

Mr. Paleologos, the poll director, said that Mr. Patrick, who also started a TV ad campaign over the weekend, may not have seen its results reflected in the poll yet. Mr. Gabrieli, on the other hand, who has been advertising heavily since June, has likely benefited from the cumulative results of the publicity, he said.

The 7NEWS/Suffolk poll also showed that Mr. Gabrieli would be the strongest candidate to defeat Republican Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey in the final election in November. The poll revealed that Mr. Gabrieli would beat Ms. Healey by 21 percent, with Mr. Reilly beating her by 9 percent and Mr. Patrick overcoming the lieutenant governor by 8 percent.

Independent gubernatorial candidate Christy Mihos did not exceed 10 percent of likely voters in any matchup. Green Rainbow Party nominee Grace Ross of Worcester did not top 2 percent in any of the general election matchups.

The poll was conducted from last Thursday through Monday. It has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

All 600 respondents said they were registered voters and had voted in the 2002 election for governor.

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