WBUR Poll: Coakley maintains lead in Democratic primary

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Last but not least from our new poll for WBUR, the governor's race. Attorney General Martha Coakley is still far ahead of her Democratic rivals, with 51 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary. Her closest competitor is State Treasurer Steve Grossman, but with only 7 percent, he is barely the other three candidates in the field. Thirty percent of potential Democratic primary voters remain undecided.

Coakley's margin over Republican Charlie Baker is 9 points, down somewhat from previous polls. Baker has gained in some demographics but still trails Coakley by 20 points among women, a key voting bloc in recent statewide elections.

Apart from Coakley and Grossman, the other Democratic candidates in the race continue to suffer from a lack of name recognition among voters. Some lesser-known candidates have likened their efforts to those of other outsiders like Elizabeth Warren and Deval Patrick, but as we have noted previously, both Warren and Patrick had much higher name recognition and favorable ratings at this point in their first campaigns than Juliette Kayyem, Don Berwick and Joe Avellone currently enjoy.