Polls Give Incumbents Big Leads

Voters still have to wait eight days before they go to the polls, but the races for Massachusetts senator and governor are all but over, according to the most recent Boston Globe survey.

In a Thursday poll of 400 likely voters in next Tuesday's election, U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56 held a commanding lead over Belmont entrepreneur W. Mitt Romney, 57 percent to 35 percent, with 8 percent undecided.

The gubernatorial race is even more lopsided, with Republican Gov. William F. Weld '66 leading state Rep. Mark Roosevelt '78 by a 65 percent to 21 percent margin. Fourteen percent of those polled remain undecided.

The poll of 400 likely voters has a five percent margin of error.

But despite the seemingly insurmountable deficits, workers in the Romney and Roosevelt campaigns said they aren't giving up.

Optimistic Romney campaign workers pointed yesterday to the much closer margin shown in the latest Boston Herald poll as reason for hope.

"The Herald poll only shows us down by 10 percentage points, 49 percent to 39 percent," said Anne S. Murphy, Romney's press secretary. "It's still volatile out there with the electorate."

But the campaign appears to be reeling from the decline in its support. Three weeks ago, polls had Romney and Kennedy even.

The Romney camp said Kennedy's recent gains were the result of Kennedy's negative campaigning.

"Once Romney proved himself to be a real threat, Kennedy basically began doing all he could to get re-elected, including launching a negative campaign," Murphy said.

Romney will continue to hold campaign rallies for the next week and a half, Murphy said.

The Republican hopeful was in Holyoke on Saturday talking to local residents of the Church Hill neighborhood.

Romney called the neighborhood another example of "Kennedy Country," where crime and welfare dependency are on the rise, according to a campaign statement released yesterday.

"We'll keep trying to push the theme of Romney as a candidate for change," Murphy said.

Romney also held rallies in Leominister and Lowell Saturday.

The Republican received endorsements Saturday from the Boston Herald and the Worcester Telegram and Gazette.

Like Murphy, Roosevelt supporters said they are pleased by a more positive showing in the latest Herald poll.

"From the beginning, it has been an uphill battle That hasn't changed," said Dwight D. Robson, director of operations. "In the Herald poll, the governor dropped 13 points, while we gained five points."

Robson said a difference in funding has been a serious disadvantage for the Roosevelt cause.

"The governor has spent a million dollars attacking Mark Roosevelt," Robson said. "Bill Weld has received millions of dollars from every special interest group in the state."

The Roosevelt campaign did pick up $250,000 last week when Vice President Al Gore '69 visited Boston for a Democratic fundraiser, Robson said.

The Roosevelt campaign has been frustrated because despite of Roosevelt's good showing in both debates, Weld's lead in the polls has continued to grow, Robson said.

"We're not going to get demoralized," Robson said. "We wouldn't have started this in the first place if we were going to get easily depressed and demoralized."

In the dosing run, Roosevelt has begun running two ads focusing on his own record, instead of negative publicity about Weld.

"We're running two positive campaign ads that highlight Mark's record and his vision," Robson said.

But the campaign flack said Roosevelt will continue to attack Weld's record with the Massachusetts economy, crime and welfare reform.

"We're going to continue to tell the truth about the Massachusetts economy," Robson said. "We will work to make Massachusetts the opportunity state again.

"The Herald poll only shows us down by 10 percentage points, 49 percent to 39 percent," said Anne S. Murphy, Romney's press secretary. "It's still volatile out there with the electorate."

But the campaign appears to be reeling from the decline in its support. Three weeks ago, polls had Romney and Kennedy even.

The Romney camp said Kennedy's recent gains were the result of Kennedy's negative campaigning.

"Once Romney proved himself to be a real threat, Kennedy basically began doing all he could to get re-elected, including launching a negative campaign," Murphy said.

Romney will continue to hold campaign rallies for the next week and a half, Murphy said.

The Republican hopeful was in Holyoke on Saturday talking to local residents of the Church Hill neighborhood.

Romney called the neighborhood another example of "Kennedy Country," where crime and welfare dependency are on the rise, according to a campaign statement released yesterday.

"We'll keep trying to push the theme of Romney as a candidate for change," Murphy said.

Romney also held rallies in Leominister and Lowell Saturday.

The Republican received endorsements Saturday from the Boston Herald and the Worcester Telegram and Gazette.

Like Murphy, Roosevelt supporters said they are pleased by a more positive showing in the latest Herald poll.

"From the beginning, it has been an uphill battle That hasn't changed," said Dwight D. Robson, director of operations. "In the Herald poll, the governor dropped 13 points, while we gained five points."

Robson said a difference in funding has been a serious disadvantage for the Roosevelt cause.

"The governor has spent a million dollars attacking Mark Roosevelt," Robson said. "Bill Weld has received millions of dollars from every special interest group in the state."

The Roosevelt campaign did pick up $250,000 last week when Vice President Al Gore '69 visited Boston for a Democratic fundraiser, Robson said.

The Roosevelt campaign has been frustrated because despite of Roosevelt's good showing in both debates, Weld's lead in the polls has continued to grow, Robson said.

"We're not going to get demoralized," Robson said. "We wouldn't have started this in the first place if we were going to get easily depressed and demoralized."

In the dosing run, Roosevelt has begun running two ads focusing on his own record, instead of negative publicity about Weld.

"We're running two positive campaign ads that highlight Mark's record and his vision," Robson said.

But the campaign flack said Roosevelt will continue to attack Weld's record with the Massachusetts economy, crime and welfare reform.

"We're going to continue to tell the truth about the Massachusetts economy," Robson said. "We will work to make Massachusetts the opportunity state again.