In the April 9-10 Howie Carr/Gravis telephone survey of 2,182 Massachuesetts residents, 49 percent of those polled oppose hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics in Boston and 37 percent support the plan.
“We see that many people appreciate the importance of the Olympics, but are not willing to endure the cost and hassles associated with the Olympics bid and actual putting on of the games,” said Cherie Bereta Hymel, the managing partner of Gravis Insights, the Florida-based political consulting firm that conducted the poll. The poll has a 2 percent margin of error.
Bereta Hymel said the overwhelming support for a referendum on whether to use taxpayer money to bring the Olympics to Boston, 61 percent to 23 percent, is a further confirmation of opposition to the plan and the lack of trust the state’s resident have for their trust officials and politicians. “Then, if they get their referendum, 66 percent would vote against it compared to 18 percent for it.”
“Forty percent of respondents think Massachusetts would benefit from hosting the 2014 Summer Olympics compared to 46 opposed and 37 percent want the games to come to Boston compared to 49 percent opposed,” he said.
“They don’t think the juice is with the squeeze,” he said.
On his syndicated radio show, Howie Carr said he was thrilled that poll’s large sample size of residents captured the opinions of Bay Staters, who might not follow the news as closely as activists and would tend to be in favor of the games.
Carr said he doubted that the supporters of Boston’s 2024 Olympics bid could turn around a public that was so overwhelmingly against the bid. “This is bad, this really, really bad news for them.
Feargal O’Toole, a Boston-area Democratic digital consultant and owner of Data for Donkeys, said the opposition to the Boston 2024 Summer Olympics bid is strong.
“To start with, people in Massachusetts are smart enough to see that the Olympics is a bad deal for host cities,” he said. “Mix that with the patronizing campaign from the sellers of the games – and you’re going to see opposition like this.”
In the poll pitting Clinton against Warren, Bereta Hymel said it proves again that there is no groundswell for Warren. “There is no way Warren is running and no way she wins.”
Clinton’s 2-to-1 advantage over Warren in the senator’s adopted state is consistent with the former first lady’s strength across the country.
“The talk that Clinton is weakening or does not have a clear path to the Democratic nomination is nonsense,” he said. “First of all, who is going to beat her? She still has no real opponent. Second, Democratic leaders recognize that Clinton is the only candidate, who can pull anywhere close to the extreme turnout numbers in minority neighborhoods that was crucial for Obama.”
Notes: Gravis Marketing, a nonpartisan research firm, conducted a random survey of 2,182 individuals in Massachusetts regarding current issues. The poll has a margin of error of ± 2 percent. The total may not round to 100 percent because of rounding. The polls were conducted using IVR. A complete accounting of the demographic crosstabulations is available upon request.
Do you want Boston to host the Summer Olympics in 2024?
In your opinion, should there be a state-wide referendum on whether taxpayer money can be used to host the 2024 Summer Olympics in Boston?
If a referendum were held today on whether the state can use taxpayer dollars for the 2024 Summer Olympics, how would you vote?
In your opinion, would Massachusetts benefit from hosting the 2024 Olympic Games?
If you had to choose between Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren to be the next president, whom would you choose?