With just a week left in the race for the Democratic nomination for the Mass. Senate seat vacated by the late Edward M. Kennedy ’54-’56, former IOP Fellow Alan A. Khazei ’83 said he is confident about his chances, despite tying for last place in a Rasmussen poll conducted in late November.

Khazei, a prominent social entrepreneur, was the top choice among just 14 percent of likely voters, tying with Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen G. Pagliuca, who is a 1982 graduate of the Harvard Business School.

While Khazei’s numbers represented a sharp uptick from a survey in late October, in which only 4 percent of likely voters said they supported him, Khazei still lagged far behind frontrunner State Attorney General Martha Coakley and U.S. Congressman Michael E. Capuano. Coakley was the top choice for 36 percent of voters, while Capuano received the support of 21 percent.

Khazei, a former Currier House Committee chairman, said that despite the numbers, he felt he was in a strong position going into next week’s primary.

“People love to focus on these polls, but they’re never right. The polls are just name recognition,” Khazei said in an interview Sunday.

He said that with a large number of voters undecided, he could still capture the nomination with a strong performance in this week’s debates.

“I’m extremely confident. I’m ahead of where I thought I’d be right now as a grassroots candidate,” Khazei said.

A number of undergraduate Khazei supporters expressed similar optimism about his chances in the Dec. 8 primary.

“We are going to win. There is no doubt in my mind,” said Sam B. Novey ’11, who serves as the Social Media Organizer for the campaign.

Novey cited not only Khazei’s poll bounce but also his recent endorsements from the Boston Globe and from Army General Wesley K. Clark as proof that the campaign has the necessary momentum to win the nomination.

Student supporter Elizabeth J. Newton ’11 echoed Novey’s sentiments, saying that while she plans to participate in phonebanking and canvassing over the next week, she is also expecting “lots of celebration on election day.”

But David C. King, a lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School, said the chance that Khazei can overcome Coakley’s lead is extremely slim.

“Alan Khazei has decent field operations, but they’re among young people and don’t penetrate far outside the Boston area,” King said.

He added that a Khazei victory would require “a miracle of Biblical proportions.”

—Staff writer Evan T. R. Rosenman can be reached at erosenm@fas.harvard.edu