David Zuckerman signs a handmade political poster of himself at Williston Central School in 2016, when he was running for lieutenant governor. File photo by Jasper Craven/VTDigger

Democratic gubernatorial hopeful David Zuckerman is the target of a new poll asking respondents a series of negative questions about the candidate— a tactic experts largely consider disreputable.

The poll poses about a dozen questions, including queries about Zuckerman’s “radical” government programs versus Republican Governor Phil Scott’s middle-of-the-road ones. Respondents are asked after each question if the negative point raised about the Democratic challenger makes them more or less likely to vote for Zuckerman. Both campaigns say they’re unaware of the polling.

These types of negative calls are sometimes mistaken for “push polls” — large-scale, thinly-veiled attempts to smear candidates. However due to the thoroughness of the poll, and demographic questions asked, it’s a legitimate, though problematic, type of message testing, according to experts.

“Typically, a push poll is an effort to shape opinion that doesn’t include any data collection at all. Message testing is actually collecting data,” said Rich Clark, professor of political science and former director of polling at the Castleton Polling Institute.

“Someone analyzes it and says, ‘When people think that Zuckerman has disdain for the military, they’re less likely to vote for him. So let’s put out ads showing that.’ And then the ads go out. But it still doesn’t make it nice; it’s not reputable. They want to know what message is going to damage a candidate the most,” Clark said.

Clark notes that push polling is often identified by how few questions are asked, compared to message testing which is marked by more questions and an attempt to acquire demographic information from the person being called. “It would cost a lot to ask many questions and get those out to lots of people,” he said.

Zuckerman’s campaign is aware of the negative polls, said Colleen Jackson, deputy campaign manager for Zuckerman’s campaign.

“We have been receiving some calls from supporters telling us about potential push polling, but none of us on staff have received the poll, so we don’t know if it is push polling,” Jackson said.

Jason Maulucci, the campaign manager for Scott, said the Governor’s campaign was not involved.

“Our campaign hasn’t done any of that, so I don’t know who it could be. But sometimes the other side will try to expose their own vulnerabilities and ask questions like that,” he said.

The Republican Governors Association-backed Political Action Committee, A Stronger Vermont, gave $54,000 to National Research Inc. in late July. The group which manages polling for a litany of Republican candidates, including President Donald Trump’s campaign for president.

A Democratic Governors Association-funded PAC, Our Vermont, has spent effectively no money on the Governor’s race.