Republicans have a “long list of pick up opportunities for Senate seats next year but it doesn’t look like Rhode Island will be one of them,” according to a new Public Policy Polling survey.
49% of voters approve of the job Whitehouse is doing to 38% who disapprove. He’s in very solid standing with the Democratic base at 72% approval to 11% unhappy with his job performance. He doesn’t have much crossover support from Republicans at 12% approval to 77% disapproval, but that’s not too big of a problem for him because there basically are no GOP voters in the state- only 14% of the respondents on this poll. Perhaps a little more worrisome for Whitehouse is his upside down numbers with independents, which are the largest voting bloc in the state and give him only a 40% approval to 50% who disapprove. But his good numbers within his own party still outweigh that.
Possible challengers:
- The “strongest potential candidate against Whitehouse is Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian.” He “trails Whitehouse 47-37 in a head to head.”
- Former Governor “Don Carcieri actually proved to be the weakest candidate tested against Whitehouse on this poll.” In a “head to head with Whitehouse, Carcieri trails 54-37.”
- 2010 GOP “Gubernatorial nominee John Robitaille would be the second strongest candidate against Whitehouse, trailing by a 49-38 margin.”
- John Loughlin, who “ran for the House last year,” trails Whitehouse 51-34.
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