Robitaille optimistic after polling 3rd

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - The man in last place in the latest poll on gubernatorial candidates isn't swayed by being number three; his campaign says he's gaining ground on the two Democrats in the middle.

In a release, Republican candidate John Robitaille -- the communications director for current Gov. Don Carcieri, who's never held public office -- said his being two percentage points behind Attorney General Patrick Lynch and 8 percentage points behind State Treasurer Frank Caprio shows he's gaining name recognition after just one month of campaigning.

"The voters are beginning to realize that our campaign offers new hope for Rhode Island while the other candidates offer only more of the same," said Robitaille in the release Tuesday.

Rasmussen Reports did the poll back on Feb. 25, telephoning 500 likely voters.

Rasmussen posed hypothetical three-way contests between one of the Democrats, Independent former Sen. Lincoln Chafee and Robitaille. It didn't matter who the Democrat was -- Chafee won out both times.

Click for a detailed rundown of the poll numbers. You can also read Rasmussen's full poll at their web site.

Rasmussen's margin of sampling error for the survey is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points, with a 95% level of confidence. Margin of error indicates how close the poll's results are to the true figures for the entire population of voters; the higher the margin of error, the less faith should be put in the sample of (in this case) 500 likely voters.