Poll: Caprio leads Lynch in primary

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - A poll released Tuesday by Brown University’s Taubman Center shows General Treasurer Frank Caprio leading Attorney General Patrick Lynch in a Democratic primary.

The poll indicates 30 percent would vote for Caprio and 21 percent would support Lynch. But a large group has yet to make up their mind with 47.5 percent polled saying they’re undecided.

The poll surveyed 605 registered voters and comes with a 3.9 percent margin of error, the margin of error for the primary question was 4.7 percent. Voters “somewhat likely or likely” to vote in the primary, 59 percent of those asked, were polled on the primary match-up.

In line with an exclusive Eyewitness News poll released earlier this month , the Brown poll shows independent gubernatorial candidate Lincoln Chafee would have an easier time facing Lynch over Caprio. With Lynch in the race, Chafee gets 32 percent of the vote, Lynch 17 percent and Republican John Robitaille 13 percent. While a match-up with the General Treasurer shows Caprio getting 28 percent to Chafee’s 33.5 percent; Robitaille drops to 12 percent.

Still an unknown: the poll was conducted before Moderate party candidate Ken Block entered the race.

The Eyewitness News poll conducted at the end of January showed Caprio and Chafee in a statistical dead-heat: Chafee at 31 percent, Caprio at 30 percent and Robitaille at 13 percent. With Lynch in the race, the WPRI TV poll showed Lynch garnering 23 percent to Chafee’s 34 percent and Robitaille’s 18 percent.

• See a breakdown of Eyewitness News Poll results

Both polls show there is a large swath of undecided voters: Brown showed 35 percent of voters were undecided when Lynch was in the race and 25 percent undecided with Caprio.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse continues to have polling headaches with the latest numbers. Brown revealed 32 percent of those interviewed gave Whitehouse a favorable job rating, while 52.7 gave him unfavorable marks; 15.3 percent didn’t know.

The Eyewitness News poll had Whitehouse’s favorable at 33 percent and an unfavorable at 57 percent.

Browns poll also shows the mood of the voters in Rhode Island is grim. Only 12 percent of those asked had a great deal of confidence” or “a good amount” of confidence in state government officials to make the right decisions for the state’s future; 82 percent said they had “just some” or “none at all.”

The Brown poll was conducted from February 9th – 12th, 2010.

twhite@wpri.com