WASHINGTON -- A wave of early television advertising appears to be working to the advantage of consumer finance watchdog Elizabeth Warren as a new poll shows her surging to her biggest advantage yet over Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.).
The survey conducted by the University of Massachusetts Lowell and The Boston Herald finds Warren leading Brown by a 49 to 42 percent margin. Warren's showing represents a significant improvement over a previous UMass Lowell/Herald poll conducted in late September that had Brown with a nominal 41 to 38 percent lead.
The poll surveyed 500 registered voters in Massachusetts during the first week in December and reports a margin of error of plus or minus 5.3 percentage points. The telephone survey used live interviewers and contacted Massachusetts voters on both landline and mobile phones.
Both the Warren campaign and Republican groups, particularly Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS, have been running paid television advertising over the last month in Massachusetts.
The survey suggests that the early advertising has worked mostly to Warren's advantage: Brown's job approval rating has fallen 8 percentage points (from 53 to 45 percent) and his favorable rating has edged lower (from 52 to 48 percent). Meanwhile, Warren continues to gain in name recognition. Her favorable rating went up slightly (from 30 to 34 percent), and while her unfavorable rating has increased (from 18 to 27 percent), Brown's unfavorable rating remains higher (35 percent).