Pols & Politics: Kennealy advisor lashes out at pro-Healey poll numbers

Gov Maura Healey is staring down reelection next year and she got a bit of welcome news this past week when a poll ascertained more than half of residents in Massachusetts approve of her work But the survey conducted by MassINC Polling Group for the media outlet Commonwealth Beacon drew a testy response from an advisor to Mike Kennealy a Republican running for governor who was previously a cabinet secretary under former Gov Charlie Baker MassINC Polling Group a well-known firm based in downtown Boston unveiled that of residents strongly approve of Healey s job as governor and another somewhat approve of her work That s based on a survey of residents between Aug and The survey also identified that of respondents somewhat disapprove of Healey s work and another strongly disapprove of her job as governor Eleven percent of residents surveyed were unsure about Healey s time in office Brian Wynne a pollster on Kennealy s staff who once served as Baker s campaign manager and runs his own polling operation Opinion Diagnostics explained he assigns zero credibility to MassINC s statistically unscientific online survey Their methodology has suffered from severe misses in the past bulk notably when they overstated the margin of triumph on the millionaires tax by points Wynne explained in a message to the Herald In the survey testing Healey s approval MassINC Polling Group announced responses were collected through an online panel with results weighted by race age gender guidance political identification and county to reflect known and estimated population parameters for Massachusetts residents The credibility interval for this survey is - percentage points at the confidence level inclusive of the design effect the company explained in a footnote included at the end of the survey An official at MassINC Polling Group declined to comment As an example of MassINC s past severe misses Kennealy spokesperson Logan Trupiano pointed to an October survey from the company The poll which was sponsored by the Barr Foundation surveyed likely voters and revealed that mentioned they would have voted in favor of and against the constitutional amendment that would eventually implement a surtax on incomes over million Voters approved the so-called Fair Share Amendment about a month later with of the vote or more than million ballots Another or more than million residents voted against the guidelines according to state information As for Healey s approval rating the MassINC poll confirms what preponderance already know as the days count down to the vote any Republican hoping to unseat Healey will have a tough time especially as national conservatives continue to keep Massachusetts in their crosshairs A spokesperson for Healey s campaign referred questions from the Herald to the Massachusetts Democratic Party whose chair Steve Kerrigan praised the results of MassINC s survey This is yet another poll that confirms that the people of Massachusetts know that Gov Healey is delivering on the business sector and lowering costs and is the only one who can be counted on to stand up to the damage Donald Trump is doing every day Kerrigan disclosed in a comment The poll conducted by MassINC also generally lines up with past surveys that have tested Healey s approval ratings A University of Massachusetts Amherst WCVB poll from February identified Healey had a job approval rating among Massachusetts respondents A University of New Hampshire survey from May pegged Healey s approval rating at while a Morning Consult survey from July put it at An internal poll from Kennealy s campaign conducted in February by Wynne s firm Opinion Diagnostics revealed Healey had a approval rating The Opinion Diagnostics survey had a margin of error of and also featured an online survey like the modern poll conducted by MassINC Respondents were contacted by live phone operators as well as outbound SMS messages which led to an online survey Wynne wrote in a memo of his survey Respondent records was weighted to match the known demographic attributes of the gubernatorial-year general electorate on party gender age ethnicity educational attainment and geographic region Brian Shortsleeve a venture capitalist and former MBTA official who is also running for governor as a Republican brushed aside Healey s approval rating On the issues that matter utility bills the migrant situation and taxes she is on the wrong side he mentioned in a announcement to the Herald People will vote their wallets and her out of office Meanwhile physical condition care giant Johnson Johnson wades into Massachusetts elections A national healthcare care giant with a presence in Massachusetts appears poised to wade directly into elections here Johnson Johnson which has a facility in Raynham and office space in Cambridge filed paperwork with the state s campaign finance office earlier this month to create a political action committee or an entity that can raise cash and make direct contributions to candidates Johnson Johnson has established this political action committee to help candidates policies and initiatives that align with its commitment to advancing general healthcare fostering innovation in healthcare and promoting access to diagnostic products and services while representing the interests of the healthcare pharmaceutical and consumer goods industries the company stated in a Sept filing A spokesperson for Johnson Johnson did not say which races candidates or specific initiatives the company is looking to back Johnson Johnson is proud of its presence in Massachusetts and to be a part of the Commonwealth s vibrant healthcare ecosystem In compliance with relevant laws and regulations we have established a state PAC to facilitate political contributions that advocacy pro-innovation healthcare initiatives the spokesperson stated in a announcement The company listed James Swanson its chief information officer as the PAC s chair and Jennifer Thomas a senior manager of political programs and compliance at Johnson Johnson as its treasurer Johnson Johnson created a traditional political action committee which can only take contributions from individuals and make direct contributions to candidates according to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance The wellbeing care company is no stranger to Bay State politics Personnel at Johnson Johnson have turned to a handful of lobbying shops for work in Massachusetts this year according to state lobbying records That includes paying more than to ML Strategies for lobbying related to issues that would impact the pharmaceutical physiological device and vitality care consumer products industries as well as Johnson Johnson s facilities and employees located in Massachusetts The company also has Commonwealth Counsel a firm that includes former Democratic Sen Joe Boncore of Winthrop listed in their state records for the same work But the details does not display any payments Caitlin Beresin the director of U S State Affairs at Johnson Johnson who used to work at ML Strategies also appears in the company s lobbying records for worth of work related to pharmaceutical therapeutic device and wellbeing care consumer products industries