• Dr Kevin Bonham: EMRS: Both Majors Rebuild Following Labor Leader Change
In the first poll since the change of leader for Tasmania’s Labor Party, Rebecca White is neck-and-neck with current Liberal Premier Will Hodgman on who people regard as best to lead the state.
The EMRS survey of 1,000 Tasmanians found Mr Hodgman still had the edge, with 42 per cent rating him as preferred Premier, while 39 per cent favoured Ms White, who has only been on the job two months after taking over the Labor leadership in a bloodless coup in March.
It presents a vastly different picture from the most recent poll earlier this year, which had Mr Hodgman at 52 per cent support, well ahead of former Labor leader Bryan Green, who attracted a mere 20 per cent.
Samuel Paske from EMRS said Ms White was “clearly more favourable” to the electorate than Mr Green.
“The latest preferred Premier results show a significant reduction in the gap between both leaders, with Rebecca White clearly a more favourable alternative than her predecessor,” he said.
Support for the Liberals has rebounded from 35 to 39 per cent, while support for Labor is now up to 34 per cent, the highest its been since February 2015.
Support for the Greens has fallen to 15 per cent, continuing a downward trend in the party’s poll support over the last year.
One Nation was the big mover in a poll earlier this year, attracting 6 per cent of the share, but that is now down to just 3 per cent in the EMRS survey.
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ABC, Kevin Bonham pointer
