Bay State Poll Results: Kerry Seen as More Compassionate, Honest than Bush; Romney Approval Rating Mixed

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 1, 2004--Overview of Bay State Poll:

-- John Kerry was seen as much more compassionate (61% to 27%), somewhat more honest (48% to 40%), and as a slightly stronger leader (52% to 47%) than President Bush

-- 42% of those polled saw the war in Iraq the most important issue in the upcoming presidential race, however 30% said jobs and the economy would be most important to them personally in casting their vote

Perspectives on the DNC

-- About half (53%) of those polled felt the costs and inconveniences of having the convention outweighed the benefits. Only about a third (25%) felt the benefits outweighed the costs.

-- Only 29% of those polled changed their work/travel plans due to the convention

-- 41% of those polled paid more attention to this year's convention than they normally do to such events

These findings come from the Bay State Poll, a quarterly survey of Massachusetts's residents, conducted by the Center for Public Opinion Research at Merrimack College. Six hundred and one (601) randomly selected state residents over the age of eighteen were interviewed by telephone between July 18th and 28th, 2004. The margin of error for the survey is +/- 4.1%. Detailed results and methodological information are available at www.merrimack.edu/polling.

    Presidential Race

In thinking about the upcoming       If the election for President of
 presidential race, would you say     the United States were held
 you are paying                       today would you vote for
---------------------------------    ---------------------------------
50 %  A great deal of attention      30 %  George Bush
38 %  Some attention                 56 %  John Kerry
12 %  Not much attention              3 %  Ralph Nader
                                      7 %  Other/Don't Know/Wouldn't
                                           Vote
---------------------------------    ---------------------------------


                      Most Important Issue    Most Important Issue
                       in the Presidential    Personally in Deciding
                             Race (%)          Whom to Vote For (%)
--------------------- ---------------------  ------------------------
The War in Iraq                         42                        24
National Security                       20                        20
Jobs and Economy                        25                        30
Reducing Deficit                         2                         4
Gay Marriage                             2                         3
Health Care                              6                        11
Other                                    1                         6
Don't Know                               3                         2
--------------------- ---------------------  ------------------------


                   % Saying Characteristics Describes the Candidate
                                Extremely or Quite Well
                           Bush                      Kerry
Compassionate                     37                          61
Strong Leader                     47                          52
Honest                            40                          48


                Do you approve or disapprove of how George Bush is
                          handling his job as president?
                 November 2003    February 2004         July 2004
Approve                  38%               39%               34%
Disapprove               54%               54%               60%
Don't Know                8%                7%                6%


    The Democratic National Convention

How much attention are you paying     Compared to how much attention
 to the Democratic National            you normally pay to such
 Convention?                           events, is this?
----------------------------------    --------------------------------
28 %  A great deal of attention       41 %  More attention
40 %  Some attention                  43 %  About the same amount of
                                            attention
32 %  Not much attention              16 %  Less attention
                                       1 %  Don't Know
----------------------------------    --------------------------------


                                        Costs and
              Public relations and    inconveniences
               economic benefits   outweigh the economic     Don't
               outweigh the costs  and public relations     Know/Not
               and inconveniences         benefits            Sure
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                          35%                    53%          13%

Democrats                      45%                    41%          14%
Republicans                    18%                    76%           6%
----------------------------------------------------------------------


            Have you personally altered your work schedule or travel
               plans due to worries about traffic problems or other
                       disruptions caused by the convention?
            ----------------------------------------------------------
                                Bristol, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk,
                 Statewide              Plymouth, and Suffolk
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes                         29%                                    35%
No                          70%                                    64%
Don't Know                   1%                                     1%
----------------------------------------------------------------------


    STATE ISSUES

               Do you approve or disapprove of how Mitt Romney is
                          handling his job as governor?
               November 2003      February 2004         July 2004
Approve                     49%                 47%                48%
Disapprove                  36%                 37%                39%
Don't Know                  15%                 16%                13%


How much do you pay each year for automobile insurance?

22 %  Less than $1000
41 %  $1000 to $2000
20 %  Over $2000
 8 %  Does not have automobile insurance
 9 %  Don't Know


How significant is insurance fraud in contributing to the high cost of
 automobile insurance?

40 %  Very significant
39 %  Somewhat significant
10 %  (Volunteered In Between)
 8 %  Not very significant
 3 %  Not significant at all
 1 %  Don't Know


                                               Replace our current
                                             regulated system with a
                     Allow people the option free market system with
                      of giving up the right   rate established by
                      to sue in return for      competition among
                           lower rates               insurers
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Favor                                    36%                       64%
Oppose                                   49%                       22%
Not Sure/Don't Know                      16%                       14%