A new poll shows Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee with a solid lead in the race to keep his job, and Republican Allan Fung with a similar advantage in his attempt to flip the state’s 2nd Congressional District.
The Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll shows McKee leading Republican challenger Ashley Kalus, 46% to 36%, with nearly 14% of likely voters still undecided.
The poll of 800 likely voters has a margin of error of 3.5%.
“The record that we have over the last 18, 19 months will speak for itself,” McKee said Tuesday in response to the poll. “I think that we take it one day at time as we do with everything to make sure that keep our focus on the work to help people in the state of Rhode Island.”
Kalus, a newcomer to the state, said she’s gaining ground from people not knowing who she was earlier this year.
“We’re really excited. Six months ago, nobody know who I was. And I was down 30 points, then 20 points, then 13 points, then 10 points. So we’re making progress,” Kalus said. “And what we’re seeing is that I’m significantly ahead with independents.”
“We are moving in the right direction and this is what we expected. And I think as more people learn about me, remember, I am not a career politician, so people don’t know me yet. And as they learn about my message and my vision for the state, I think they’ll choose me over Dan McKee, a career politician that’s under FBI investigation,” Kalus said, referring to the federal probe of the ILO school contract handed out by the McKee administration.
The poll showed McKee’s approval rating at 45.5%, while 38% of respondents disapproved of the job he is doing as governor.
The approval number is up from 40% in a June Suffolk/Globe poll.
At 44%, the cost of living was overwhelmingly the single most important issue in the governor’s race, according to the poll. Abortion rights was second, at 15%.
Forty-eight percent of those surveyed felt Rhode Island is on the wrong track, while 35% thought the state is headed in the right direction.
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