Poll: Boston mayor’s race closer, 9% still undecided

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) – With four days left in the historic race for Boston mayor, a new Boston Herald/Suffolk University poll shows State Rep. Marty Walsh is ahead of City Councilor John Connolly by three percentage points.

"Up to this week I haven't led in any polls," said Walsh. "It's certainly nice to be in the lead according to a poll."

It's the second poll in a week that shows Walsh in the lead, but nine percent of voters are undecided.

Connolly is quick to point out that his lead still lies within the margin of error, "I don't put a lot of stock in the polls. I'll say my internal polls have it as a dead heat."

Walsh said the race is all about getting out the votes on election day. Boston has more than 368,000 registered voters. Only 113,000 turned out to vote in September's preliminary election.

"People are satisfied with both of the candidates and don't see a lot of major differences between them," said political strategist Jim Spencer. "Therefore it might affect turnout."

The candidates, however, aren't buying it.

"Everywhere I go a lot of people are talking about the race – more than I've experienced in the last week – so I don't think it's going to be as low as people say," said Walsh.

"I think we're going to see an increase in turnout coming out of the preliminary. I think people have started to get focused on the race," said Connolly.

With the Red Sox rolling rally happening Saturday, both candidates will focus the campaigns on other parts of the city. On Sunday, they'll try to reset and re-engage voters.

Cox Media Group