With less than three weeks left before the Nov. 7 election, Democrat Deval Patrick has maintained a large lead (15-20 points) over Republican Kerry Healey in the polls.
Several hours after the debate, an online poll by the Boston Globe showed that 49.3 percent of respondents felt that Patrick won the debate, while 37.4 percent thought that Healey was victorious.
These numbers suggest a somewhat strong correlation between peoples' views going into the debates and their reactions to it.
According to Political Science Lecturer Michael Goldman, although post-debate spin can sway undecided voters, this connection is not surprising.
"Unless there is a bombshell ... the debate will sway no one," he told the Daily in an e-mail before the debate. "Viewers are almost all predisposed to a candidate."
This trend held true for Tufts partisans that saw the debate. Mickey Leibner, the vice president of the Tufts Democrats, felt that the debate was a decisive victory for Patrick.
"I thought it was pretty clear that Deval Patrick came out and showed everybody why he can be the best leader for Massachusetts for the next four years," he said.
Sophomore Daniel Hartman, who has worked for the Healey campaign, disagreed. "I honestly feel that Kerry Healey won," he said.
In either case, the reflections on the poll show Healey closer to Patrick than opinion polls over the past few weeks have.
Although Healey has been moving in on Patrick using an aggressive advertising campaign, Hartman feels that the increased support for Healey among viewers of the debate stems from how she handled herself.
"I feel like tonight was the first time that Kerry Healey really came on the offensive and was really able to confront [Patrick] in the debate," he said.
This passion, he hopes, will lead to an increased focus on issues over personalities in the campaign.
"I feel if people focus on the issues instead of the candidate's personality, then they're going to find themselves agreeing with Kerry Healey," he said.
- Rob Silverblatt
