Results of a new poll for the upcoming Democratic Mayoral Primary race in Rochester have just been released. These initial findings show a strong lead for the incumbent.
The Voice of the Voter survey, which was completed in early August, and just released this weekend, shows a commanding lead at this point for Mayor Tom Richards over his primary opponent, City Council President Lovely Warren. The survey by the Siena Research Institute asked Democrats who they would vote for if the primary were held at the time of this survey, and 55 percent backed Richards, 28 percent favor Warren, and 17 percent either were undecided or had no opinion. You can find the full survey results at the end of this story.
Siena pollster Don Levy says many of the questions asked in this poll point toward a strong lead for the incumbent.
“Mayor Richards right now has a very, very strong favorability ranking; two thirds of voters have a favorable impression of him, only 15 percent unfavorable. Those are numbers that almost any politician, especially any incumbent, would almost kill to have."
Richards, who became mayor by winning a March 2011 special election, polls strongly when prospective voters were asked about questions like economic development and fighting crime.
Levy says Warren showed more strength when residents were asked about which candidate they favored in addressing issues such as neighborhood concerns and education. As with many political contests, Levy says turnout on primary day, September 10th, will be a big factor.
Whoever wins that contest will face Green Party mayoral candidate Alex White in November. There is no Republican candidate for mayor.
This poll interviewed 1,056 City of Rochester registered voters, and that part of the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus three percent. The portion of the survey that involved 606 City of Rochester registered Democrats had a margin of error of plus or minus four percent.
Richards' campaign issued a statement saying that the poll results reflect what voters are telling them in every neighborhood, that residents believe the city is making progress under his leadership.
Lovely Warren issued a statement saying that the survey includes a high number of undecided voters, and she says the survey was taken when her campaign’s mail plan was just getting into gear. She says based on her campaign’s data they believe the primary contest for mayor has tightened up considerably since the poll was taken.
Voice of the Voter is a collaborative effort of WXXI, (channel 21 and AM 1370), The Democrat and Chronicle, 13WHAM-TV, WDKX 103.9. The poll was conducted by Siena College for the Voice of the Voter initiative and YNN. Voice of the Voter is funded in part by a grant from the Community Foundation in Rochester.
Voice of the Voter Democratic Primary Poll 2013
