Poll: Mass. Dems back Clinton over Warren

A majority of Massachusetts Democrats would back Hillary Clinton in a potential 2016 Democratic primary contest even over home state Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D), according to a new poll.

The poll from Suffolk University and the Boston Herald finds Clinton up by 38 percentage points, with 55 percent support from likely Massachusetts Dem voters to 17 percent for Warren.

{mosads}Polls have shown Clinton to be the runaway favorite for the Democratic nomination, but there has been speculation about the potential for Warren to challenge her from the left. Warren, though, has insisted she is not running. 

In national polls of Democrats, Clinton leads by more than 50 percentage points. Warren, however, is not as well-known among national voters as Clinton is. Sixty-one percent of voters in a national Quinnipiac poll in July said they did not know enough about Warren to form an opinion of her, compared to just 8 percent who said so of Clinton.

In Massachusetts, voters know Warren much better. Just 7.5 percent were undecided on Warren, and 1 percent had never heard of her, but the Democratic voters still went overwhelmingly for Clinton.

The two had almost the same favorability, at 77 percent for Clinton and 81 percent for Warren.

Trailing Clinton and Warren are Vice President Biden at 8 percent, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo at 5 percent and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley at 2 percent.