POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Poll shows good news for BAKER, WARREN — COLUMBIA GAS’ troubled history — DeLEO: House Dems ‘enthusiastic’ in their support

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Poll shows good news for BAKER, WARREN — COLUMBIA GAS’ troubled history — DeLEO: House Dems ‘enthusiastic’ in their support

09/20/2018 07:02 AM EDT

By Lauren Dezenski (ldezenski@politico.com; @laurendezenski)
GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.

MASS. POLLERCOASTER - A new poll gauging likely voters this November shows good news for Gov. Charlie Baker and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and bad news for the Massachusetts Legislature.

Both Baker and Warren continue to hold strong leads over their challengers from the opposing parties, according to a new poll from Suffolk University and the Boston Globe. Baker has 55 percent support while his Democratic opponent Jay Gonzalez has 28 percent, with 17 percent undecided. Meanwhile, Warren has 54 percent support to state Rep. Geoff Diehl's 24 percent. Undecideds clock in at 16 percent, and 6 percent say they're supporting independent candidate Shiva Ayyadurai (the guy with the bus).

Baker and Warren's opponents are still struggling to break through to voters, too. Thirty eight percent of likely voters reached in the poll had never heard of Gonzalez while 45 percent had never heard of Diehl.

The poll also showed voters are responding well to Baker, who has sought to heavily distance himself from President Donald Trump (and did not vote for the president in 2016). Sixty percent of respondents say Baker is an anti-Trump Republican while only 12 percent say he is a pro-Trump Republican. It all stacks up to good news for Baker, who has a 73 percent favorability and 17 percent unfavorability among likely Massachusetts voters — the exact inverse of Trump's support here (Trump has a 73 percent unfavorability and 22 percent favorable).

Asked who is most responsible for Massachusetts heading on the wrong track, a plurality of voters — 38 percent — laid the blame at the feet of the state legislature. The second-highest response was President Donald Trump with 20 percent.

Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: ldezenski@politico.com..

TODAY — Rep. Katherine Clark joins William James College and federal congressional and state representatives including Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General Eric Gold, Democratic MA-03 candidate Lori Trahan, and Massachusetts State Senate candidate Jon Santiago in a panel to discuss the state of the opioid crisis — Jay Gonzalez, Democratic nominee for governor, and Ayanna Pressley, Democratic nominee for Congress in the 7th Congressional District, will meet voters in Dudley Square. Later, Gonzalez heads to the Big E in Springfield to mark Massachusetts Day.

DATELINE MERRIMACK VALLEY —
- "Columbia Gas And Its Corporate Parent Have History Of Late Accident Reporting And 15 Explosions in Eight Years," by Isaiah Thompson, WGBH News: "When it comes to the timely reporting of gas accidents to federal safety authorities, Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, the company operating the gas lines involved in the recent Merrimack Valley explosions, and other subsidiaries of its parent company have a history of delays and noncompliance with federal reporting requirements."

WHERE IS CHARLIE BAKER? NO LEADERSHIP!
- "Gas company's plan for speedy replacement work raises safety fears," by Matt Rocheleau and Milton J. Valencia, Boston Globe: "Safety experts raised concerns Wednesday about the Columbia Gas plan for replacing 48 miles of gas pipes in the Merrimack Valley communities hit by last week's disaster, calling the company's accelerated timetable to finish the job in 'weeks' unrealistic and potentially dangerous."


- "In wake of Valley gas explosions, Gonzalez says he'd replace DPU board," by Matt Murphy, State House News Service: "Days after gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley destroyed homes and killed one young man from Lawrence, Democrat Jay Gonzalez criticized state officials responsible for overseeing gas infrastructure for being too "cozy" with utilities and lax in their investigation of safety complaints."

ON THE STUMP —
- "Can a Massachusetts Democrat beat a tall, popular Republican governor? Mark Roosevelt couldn't," by Joan Vennochi, Boston Globe: "Can Jay Gonzalez do what Mark Roosevelt couldn't do? Beat a tall, popular Republican governor of Massachusetts? ... Roosevelt still feels the pain of his landslide loss, 24 years after it happened. "You never really internalize the odds. You always harbor hope, no matter how difficult the situation," said Roosevelt, the Democrat who lost to incumbent Bill Weld in 1994 by the largest margin in state history - 70.85 percent to 28.26 percent."

- "Democrats wary of Gonzalez's plan to tax big university endowments," by Matt Stout, Boston Herald: "When Republicans proposed hitting college endowments with a new tax last year, the response from Massachusetts Democrats was at once swift and fierce. ... US Senator Elizabeth Warren panned the plan as 'completely backwards,' saying endowments are designed to fund things like tuition aid and research."

DATELINE BEACON HILL —
- "DeLeo: House Democrats 'energetic' in their support," by the Newburyport Daily News: "During an appearance Monday night on WBZ-AM, DeLeo, who this summer became the longest continuously serving House speaker in state history, said he looked forward to being re-elected as speaker in January. The Winthrop Democrat is unopposed on the ballot Nov. 6. ... 'So far, the members seem to be very energetic in their support,' said DeLeo, who began his run as speaker in January 2009."

MOULTON MATTERS —
- "New plan from some House Democrats aims to oust Nancy Pelosi," by Bo Erickson and Ed O'Keefe, NBC News : "An ongoing feud over who will lead House Democrats next year is poised to enter a new round as early as next week, as members eager to oust House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, are floating a new way to do so. ... The group of 11 Democrats who signed the letter today included Rep. Ed Perlmutter (Colorado), Rep. Kathleen Rice (New York), Rep. Brian Higgins (New York), , Rep. Seth Moulton (Massachusetts), Rep. Robin Kelly (Illinois), Rep. Bill Foster (Illinois), Rep. Filemon Vela (Texas), Rep. Tim Ryan (Ohio), Rep. Marcia Fudge (Ohio), Rep. Albio Sires (New Jersey) and Rep. Kurt Schrader (Oregon), according to a Democratic aide who has seen the letter."

DATELINE DC —
- "Mass. Businesses Brace For Trump's Latest Round Of Tariffs," by Callum Borchers, WBUR: "The list of Chinese products subject to President Trump's latest round of tariffs is long — 5,745 items long, to be exact. That means a wide range of Massachusetts businesses could be affected, from science labs to cranberry farmers."

- "US Rep. Richard Neal, citing Springfield CRRC jobs, says ban on buying Chinese rail cars 'misguided,'" by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: "As the U.S.-vs.-China trade war escalated Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal said he'll work against a potential ban on transit agencies spending federal money on Chinese rail and transit cars -- like those CRRC MA assembles and finishes in Springfield."

FRONT PAGE PLAY — Herald: "BRING OUR COACH BACK" 
— Globe: "Utility's repair seen as rushed," "For foreign tech workers, new rules loom," "THE BID FOR SHARK-FREE SWIMMING," "Republicans risk backlash on Kavanaugh," "It wasn't a banner day, after all, for this guy in Malden."

THE LOCAL ANGLE —
- "3rd trooper will admit to OT scam," by Laurel J. Sweet, Boston Herald: "A suspended state trooper has agreed to plead guilty to collecting $12,468 in overtime pay for hours he never worked, U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling's office announced yesterday."

- "ACLU, Smith College say they're working to address black student's proposed reforms — but attorney doesn't rule out litigation," by Lucas Ropek, Springfield Republican: "An attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union says the organization will consider litigation against Smith College if the school does not adopt policy reforms proposed by a black student who was the subject of a suspicious person report in July."


HEAVEN HELP US! RON BEATY AGAIN?
- "Barnstable County officials offer to facilitate shark talks," by Geoff Spillane, Cape Cod Times: "The workshop discussion was placed on the meeting agenda at the request of Commissioner Ronald Beaty Jr., who is no stranger to addressing head-on the danger of sharks in Cape waters. He created a national stir in 2017 when he advocated the use of baited drum lines to catch and kill great white sharks."

- "Grand jury indicts pair for double-voting in Belchertown and New Hampshire during 2016 election," by Gintautas Dumcius, Masslive.com: "New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon MacDonald said in a release that the Flemings alleged cast absentee ballots in Hampton and also cast ballots in Belchertown on Nov. 8, 2016."

OTTER YOU WAITING FOR - "Otter roaming Main Street, Hyannis, evades capture," by Beth Treffeisen, Cape Cod Times: "An otter was seen roaming the streets of Hyannis on Wednesday night, sparking a search-and-rescue attempt by the Barnstable Police Department. ... The otter was seen near the east end of Main Street around 6:15 p.m. but its current whereabouts are unknown."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Boston City Councilor Matt O'Malley.

DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? No! — The Red Sox fell to the dreaded Yankees 10-1.

FRESH OUT OF THE GATE - We're taking a farewell victory lap this week for Lauren Dezenski's very last episode of The Horse Race before she moves to Washington D.C. As the third congressional race finally came to its close, we welcomed Chris Lisinski of the Lowell Sun to give us a rundown of the recount madness. Then we looked to our expert ballot guest George Cronin to get caught up on upcoming general ballot questions. John Walsh, Mass Democratic party legend gave us some insiders insight on the new Reason to Believe PAC and what we can expect in the general election. For a special fourth segment, Steve Koczela further breaks down the congressional and governors elections with a recent Suffolk University and Boston Globe poll. And finally, our something to watch focuses on Lauren's last few years in Massachusetts and what we can expect from her move to the Capitol. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud

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