Deval Patrick in trouble

A new Suffolk poll suggests Gov. Deval Patrick (D-MA) has a steep uphill climb to re-election. Only 40% of Massachusetts voters approve of the governor’s performance, while 49% disapprove.

More disturbingly for Patrick, he’d lose a hypothetical head-to-head matchup if the election were held today:

When voters were asked to choose between Patrick and Treasurer Tim Cahill in a hypothetical general election match-up, 30 percent picked Patrick, 35 percent chose Cahill, and 30 percent were undecided.

If that sentence strikes you as strange, it’s because Tim Cahill is, at least for now, a Democrat. Never that popular with his party, Cahill mentioned in an interview recently that he’d consider becoming an independent.