ith questions of electability already dogging Vice President Al Gore, Clinton-friendly Massachusetts voters are delivering him another blow: A new poll shows Democrat Bill Bradley leading Republican George W. Bush by 14 percentage points, while Bush leads Gore by 7 points.
The statewide survey, taken by the McCormack Institute for Public Affairs at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, also shows Bradley running 8 points ahead of Gore among Democratic primary voters, 43 to 35 percent.
The survey marks an 11-point shift in Bradley's favor since a UMass poll in June showed Gore leading the former New Jersey senator, 38 to 35 percent.
In recent weeks, Bradley's once longshot presidential candidacy has started to surge, particularly in the Northeast. Recent polls in New Hampshire and Rhode Island showed the two Democrats running in dead heats, an astonishing turn-around given that only a few months ago the vice president was expected to win handily.
''The Gore candidacy is in collapse in the Northeast,'' said Lou DiNatale, director of the McCormack Institute. ''This poll confirms that at the very least this is going to be a race to the convention. If the trend continues, it could even be a March knockout by Bradley.''
The poll, taken Sept. 29 to Oct. 4, has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 points among all 400 registered voters, and 6 points among the smaller sample of likely Democratic primary voters.
The survey shows Bradley attracting independent voters, women, and high school and college graduates. In a race against Bush, Bradley leads 48 to 34 percent, while Bush beats Gore, 46 to 39 percent. The strong Bradley showing comes in a state where Bill Clinton, with Gore on his ticket, has rolled up some of his largest electoral margins.
On the state level, the poll shows that recent scandals in Governor Paul Cellucci's administration have eroded the governor's standing among voters. Cellucci's favorability has dropped 10 points since late June.
The results show that 59 percent of those surveyed approve of Cellucci's performance.
Cellucci's director of the Massachusetts Port Authority, Peter Blute, was forced to resign in August after throwing a party on a state-funded harbor cruise with lobbyists.
Cellucci has also been criticized for some of his appointments, including his selection of lobbyist and former Massport chief Stephen Tocco to head the board of higher education.
The survey's findings in the presidential race also boost Bradley's image as the strongest Democrat when he is paired against another GOP contender, John McCain. Bradley holds a 25 percentage point lead over the Arizona senator, while McCain beat Gore with a 5 point margin.
While Gore may not score well in head-to-head contests with Bush and Bradley, the vice president remains a popular figure among the Bay State's Democratic voters. Some 68 percent give him a favorable rating, while 25 percent rated him unfavorably. Another 7 percent offered no answer.
Bradley gets a 70 percent favorable rating among the same group, with 8 percent rating him unfavorably. Another 22 percent had no opinion.
US Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who plans to seek his seventh term next year, is in a strong position with voters. In a trial heat with Michael Sullivan, the Plymouth County district attorney and possible Republican opponent, Kennedy receives 60 percent of the vote. Sullivan gets 23 percent.
