To: Interested Parties
From: Jason Boxt, Senior Research Advisor
“Liberal” Mass: Thing of the Past
March PFP Poll Reveals Moderate Massachusetts Electorate
A March 16-21 survey of 500 voters shows Massachusetts voters identify themselves as politically moderate, with implications for how they feel about elected officials and public policy.
While Massachusetts remains staunchly Democratic, the success of Republican Governor Charlie Baker reinforces that the Commonwealth has a sizable moderate middle. Poll results show Governor Healey has successfully won these “Baker Democrats” by maintaining a moderate, middle-of-the-road reputation. Voters perceive Healey to be closer to themselves ideologically than their perception of Massachusetts Democrats and Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Finding #1: Massachusetts Voters Put Themselves in the Center
Despite the Commonwealth’s liberal reputation, the majority of Massachusetts voters view themselves as politically moderate. Using a political identification rating scale (“rate yourself on a scale of 0 to 10 with very liberal as 0, and very conservative as 10”), the average Massachusetts voter places themselves just barely left of the political center at 4.9. This is slightly to the left of where national voters have placed themselves in nationwide public polling, but still squarely in the center.
The majority of MA voters rate themselves politically between a 4 and a 6 (51%)
Nearly 6 in 10 voters place themselves either exactly in the center or to the right of center (58% at a 5 or greater)
Ratings toward liberal (32%) and conservative (30%) were nearly even
Voters place themselves near center of the political spectrum
“Rate yourself on a scale of 0 to 10 politically; 0 is very liberal and 10 is very conservative.”
Finding #2: Voters perception aligns with favorability
Respondents were then asked to use the same scale to rate several political figures.
Despite the weak performance of Republicans in most state elections, Massachusetts voters actually position themselves closer to their perception of Massachusetts Republicans on the 0-10 scale. The recent popularity of Republican Governor Charlie Baker is likely a contributing factor.
Voters place MA GOP closer to center than MA Democrats
“Using the same scale, rate Massachusetts Democrats and Massachusetts Republicans”
On the Democratic side, Massachusetts voters rate Senator Elizabeth Warren as more liberal (35% of respondents rated Warren at “0”). Warren’s averaged rating places her to the left of Healey.
Voters place Healey closer to themselves than Warren
“Using the same scale, rate … Maura Healey … Elizabeth Warren.”
Finding #3: Governor Healey has quickly leveraged her position to become the most popular statewide political figure
While voters’ perception of Warren is polarized, Healey has achieved broad favorability by being perceived as a more moderate figure. Healey’s lofty numbers with self-identified Democrats has continued since the Fall 2022 election (+78 net favorability), nearly identical to Warren (+77). Self-identified independents also hold a net favorable rating of Healey (+17), 51 points ahead of Warren (-34).
Finding #4: Voters Don’t Want a Lurch Left
When Democratic voters were asked whether they would prefer to see the party stay where it is, move to the center, or move to the left, only 16 percent said they wanted to see the party move to the left.
Should the Democratic Party move towards the center and embrace more moderate policies, should the party move further to the left and embrace more liberal policies, or should the party stay where it is right now? (asked only of self-identified Democrats, n = 233)
Methodology
The survey of 500 registered and likely voters, fielded between March 16-21, was conducted online using samples from several opt-in survey panels. For this survey, the margin of error is ± 4.4%
Results were weighted on gender, age, race, and region to ensure that demographics were representative of the expected sample for this audience (voters). Data from similar surveys and the state voter file was used to ensure the results are representative.
About PFP Research
PFP Research helps public sector leaders and analysts break through social media bubbles and overly polarized narratives to better understand the electorate and the public will to tackle policy challenges.
PFP has sponsored, conducted, and analyzed polls and policy research at the intersection of electoral politics and policy since 2018. The Policy For Progress policy action lab has illuminated public attitudes towards proposals from leading researchers and advocates on issues such as school segregation, syncing local and national elections, renaming public spaces, and rent control. PFP has also conducted both private and public electoral polling in-house, ranging from local races to statewide elections. In 2021 and 2022, PFP conducted polling released publicly in advance of low-turnout special elections in both primary and general elections as well as capturing late movement in the statewide race for Attorney General.
Jason Boxt is the Senior Research Advisor to PFP and founder of 3W Insights. He has led qualitative and quantitative projects for a wide range of nonprofit, corporate, and political organizations. Before founding 3W Insights, Jason spent two decades at Roper Starch Worldwide, Global Strategy Group, PSB and The Glover Park Group, where he led the research practice. He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and Columbia University.
