Republican Mike Minogue has posted his strongest showing yet against Gov. Maura Healey, trimming her lead to 16 points in a new University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll just over a month before Election Day.
The Boston Herald reported that Healey remains favored, while UNH polled likely voters at 54% to 38%. The New Boston Post noted it is Minogue's best result in a UNH survey, up from 27% in February.
Healey: 54%
Minogue: 38%
Neutral or unsure: 8%
Healey's numbers are shakier than the top line suggests. According to the poll, she sits at 40% favorable and 41% unfavorable, with 52% approving of her job performance and 47% disapproving. An earlier UNH poll found majorities disapproving of her handling of housing and the cost of living, which GBH identified as the state's top concerns.
Minogue is at 37% favorable and 39% unfavorable, and 19% of voters still don't know enough about him to say, compared with under 1% for Healey.
He has built his pitch around the economy. At a post-primary campaign stop, Minogue said the state has a problem with "overspending, overtaxing and overregulating," and he pitched investing in energy to lower bills. He entered the general election with more than $8 million in cash on hand to Healey's $6.6 million, and he has proposed a gas-tax holiday when prices top $4 a gallon.
The political newcomer won the GOP nomination over Brian Shortsleeve on Sept. 1, then told voters who didn't back him they have "a home here." Both candidates have agreed to fall debates, though not the same ones, and Minogue said he looks "forward to debating" the Massachusetts governor.
He already holds 98% of Republicans in the poll, so any growth has to come from independents and Democrats. Forecasters still rate the race safe for Democrats. Roughly one in five voters still has no opinion of the challenger, and he has until Nov. 3 to define himself.
