Politics

Poll: Charlie Baker leaving office with high grades in all subjects — except the T

Of registered voters surveyed, 57% said Baker handled transportation and transit “not too well” or “not well at all.”

A new poll puts Gov. Charlie Baker at a 68% overall approval rating. However, 57% of voters surveyed said Baker handled transportation and transit “not too well” or “not well at all.” Matthew Cavanaugh for The Boston Globe,

By Abby Patkin

updated on November 3, 2022

2 minutes to read

As Gov. Charlie Baker’s time in office winds down, voters are generally content with how he’s handled the job, according to a new poll.

The governor scored top marks in the UMass Amherst / WCVB Poll, with one notable — but perhaps unsurprising — exception: transportation.

Of 700 registered voters surveyed, 57% said Baker handled transportation and transit “not too well” or “not well at all.”

Mass. Governor:

However, only 11% of voters in counties served by the MBTA thought Baker was most responsible for the agency’s safety issues.

MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak, who announced his resignation this week, was the top pick at 48%. The Massachusetts State Legislature and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu got 13% and 3% of the blame, respectively.

Less than one-third of all respondents supported a federal takeover of the MBTA, though the Federal Transit Administration has said it doesn’t have the legal authority to do so anyway.

Voters gave Baker more favorable marks for his handling of the economy (65% favorable), the COVID-19 pandemic (71%), the environment (57%), taxes (58%), and education (57%). Thirty-two percent of respondents said Massachusetts is better off than when Baker entered office in 2015, while 39% said it’s about the same.

The poll, conducted in late October, found Baker with a 68% overall approval rating.

Baker’s approval dipped somewhat in 2021, dropping to 52% from a high of 68% in 2020 “in the wake of his handling of the pandemic, controversy surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and various scandals,” such as the deaths of 76 veterans at the Holyoke Soldiers Home, said UMass Amherst political science professor Tatishe Nteta, the poll’s director.

But Baker “authored an astonishing comeback story” and regained his status as the nation’s most popular governor, Nteta said in a release that accompanied the poll results.

“A key contributor to Governor Baker’s popularity, and political success in the state, is that he has declined to campaign and govern like most of today’s Republicans,” said UMass Amherst political science professor Jesse Rhodes, the poll’s associate director.

While Baker’s distinctive moderate political identity has contributed to his success, Rhodes said it also makes him an outlier as the national Republican Party skews further to the right, leaving him with limited post-gubernatorial political options.

Still, Baker will leave office as “one of the most, if not the most, popular politicians in Massachusetts history,” Nteta said.

He added: “Baker is indeed going out on top.”

University of Massachusetts Amherst/WCVB Poll