Massachusetts Governors Race 2014: Republican Candidate Charlie Baker Leads Democrat Martha Coakley

The Massachusetts gubernatorial race has the Republican candidate in the lead, based on new polling figures, a change from a two-way tie last week.

Massachusetts' WBUR and MassINC Polling Group revealed Republican Charlie Baker is now leading against Democrat Martha Coakley to become the next governor. Regardless who of wins on Nov. 4, Massachusetts residents will have a new governor as current Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick is not seeking reelection.

Baker's lead, however, is 1 percentage point. Specifically, the Republican candidate received 43 percent to Coakley's 42 percent. The latest polling figures from WBUR and MassINC. Polling Group are a change from the Boston Globe's survey that showed the gubernatorial candidates tied at 41 percent each.

"It's one of several polls which over the last week or so have shown a movement toward Baker. Coakley has essentially been treading water while Baker's been climbing," said MassINC Polling Group President Steve Koczela, via WBUR, adding that Baker's support from Democrats has been consistent since August, usually in the upper-60s.

Female voters gave high favorable ratings for Baker and Coakley. Female respondents viewed Coakley favorably with 50 percent while Baker received 48 percent. Coakley, however, received a slightly higher unfavorable rating than Baker among female voters with 32 percent to 29 percent, respectively.

Male voters easily favored Baker. Male voters gave Baker a 49 percent favorable rating, while 23 percent held an unfavorable view of him. Coakley could have trouble attracting the male vote come midterm Election Day. Male voters gave Coakley a 40 percent favorable rating while 39 percent were unfavorable.

Overall, Baker averaged a higher favorable rating than Coakley with 48 percent to 45 percent respectively. The Democratic candidate also received an overall higher unfavorable rating with 36 percent, while the Republican garnered 26 percent. A significant number of respondents were also undecided on how they viewed the candidates. For Baker, 21 percent were undecided while 16 percent were unsure of Coakley.

"Going into recent elections, the question's been, 'Can a Republican win?'" Koczela said. "If [Baker] wins, we're looking at the playbook for how a Republican does it in Massachusetts."

The last Republican governor of Massachusetts was Mitt Romney, who served one term from 2003 to 2007.

The WBUR and MassINC Polling Group survey was conducted between Oct. 15 and Oct. 18, with 501 likely voters and a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.