Taveras tops new Brown U poll with 65 percent approval; Cicilline with slight edge over Doherty

Highlights from a just-released Brown University poll:

— Providence Mayor Angel Taveras is the most popular elected official in Rhode Island, with an impressive 65.6 percent approval rating, up from 59.8 percent in February.

— State Treasurer Gina Raimondo placed second with a 58.7 percent approval rating, up from 57.7 percent earlier this year. (Statewide findings are based on results from 496 registered voters; the margin of error is 4.4 percentage points.)

— Democratic Congressman David Cicilline has a narrow lead over Republican challenger Brendan Doherty in their First Congressional District race. A survey of 236 likely CD1 voters (MoE 6.3 percentage points) shows 45.8 percent support Cicilline, 40.3 percent back Doherty, and 6.8 percent favor independent candidate David Vogel. 

— The Brown poll shows strong support for expanding gambling in Rhode Island. The survey says 57.3 percent of respondents back additional gaming  at Twin River in Lincoln (30.9 percent are opposed). Slightly less – 55.6 percent — support expanded gambling at Newport Grand (33.3 percent are opposed).

— Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse leads GOP challenger Barry Hinckley, with 58.6 percent of the support, compared with 29.7 percent for Hinckley.

— Among likely CD2 voters (based on 235 registered voters; MoE 6.3 percentage points), 49.4 percent favor Democratic Congressman Jim Langevin, 31.5 percent support Republican Michael Riley, and 4.7 percent like independent Abel Collins.

— Approval ratings climbed for a number of elected officials since Brown’s February poll. Jack Reed’s is up to 58.5 percent, from 46.5 percent earlier this year. Governor Lincoln Chafee’s approval grew from 22.1 percent to 28.5 percent. Whitehouse had a big bump — from 29.6 percent in February to 45.4 percent.

— House Speaker Gordon Fox’s approval rating is just under 19 percent. The comparable figure for Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed is 26.2 percent.