A new poll by the University of New Hampshire shows Democratic challenger Helena Foulkes widening her advantage over Gov. Dan McKee.
Among likely Democratic primary voters, 45% of respondents said they would vote for Foulkes if the primary was held today, while 11% preferred McKee, and 3% back restaurateur Greg Stevens. Thirty-nine percent of voters were undecided.
The poll, taken in March, shows an 11 percentage-point bump for Foulkes from UNH’s February poll.
The new findings come with a little more than four months until the Sept. 9 primary.
According to the poll, 76% of respondents disapprove of McKee’s job performance. Among Democrats, 24% approve of his job performance, compared with 17% among all Rhode Island respondents.
The survey found that 75% of Democrats disapprove of McKee’s handling of roads and bridges – suggesting that the Washington Bridge continues to shadow him.
“This poll reflects the frustration Helena hears from people across the state,” Foulkes spokeswoman Angelika Pellegrino said in an email.
She cited concerns about housing and the cost of living, the state’s schools and construction on the Washington Bridge.
“It’s clear that voters are looking for someone to tackle these problems, not say that the status quo is working,” Pellegrino said.
A spokesperson for McKee’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
In the race for U.S. Senate, UNH found that incumbent Sen. Jack Reed has 65% of the support, Democratic rival Connor Burbridge has 15% and 20% of respondents were undecided.
Compared with Republican candidate Raymond McKay, Reed has 52% of the backing and McKay 34%.
Sixty-one percent of respondents approve of Reed, according to the survey.
The primary findings were based on responses from 328 likely primary voters and have a 5.4 percentage point margin of error.
Asked about the most important issue facing Rhode Island, 21% cited housing, 15% picked jobs/economy or cost of living, and 11% chose infrastructure.
This story has been updated with information from Angelika Pellegrino
