In the race for Albuquerque mayor, Tim Keller is in the lead, while Dan Lewis is now in second, according to a new poll for Albuquerque Journal by Research and Polling, Inc.
The poll shows 29 percent of likely voters support Keller, currently the State Auditor, while Lewis, an Albuquerque city councilor, is in second with 18 percent. Former Democratic Party of New Mexico chairman Brian Colón is in third place with 14 percent while Bernalillo County Commission Wayne Johnson has the support of ten percent of those polled. No other candidate has more than five percent support.
If no candidate receives the support of 50 percent of voters after votes are tallied Tuesday, the top two vote-getters will head to a runoff election in November.
Eighteen percent described themselves as undecided, a sizable number for days ahead of the election.
In the previous Albuquerque Journal poll, taken two weeks earlier, Keller had the support of 25 percent of likely voters; Colón, 14 percent; Lewis, 13 percent and Johnson, 7 percent.
The race is officially nonpartisan, but Keller and Colón are Democrats, while Lewis and Johnson are Republicans.
Broken down by party, 46 percent of Democrats support Keller, while 20 percent support Colón.
Among Republicans, Lewis has 38 percent support, Johnson has 21 percent and Keller has 10 percent.
Among independents, Keller leads with 25 percent, followed by Johnson at 15 percent and Lewis at 12 percent.
Colón leads among Hispanics polled, with the support of 25 percent to Keller’s 21 percent and Lewis’ 13 percent. Johnson, who has cited his anti-sanctuary city bonafides, polls at just 4 percent among Hispanic voters.
Among Anglo voters, Keller leads with 36 percent, followed by Lewis at 20 percent, then Johnson at 15 percent.
Only four percent of voters supported each of Michelle Garcia Holmes and Gus Pedrotty, while Susan Wheeler-Deichsel received the support of just 1 percent.
Ricardo Chaves who announced Friday his withdrawal from the race, had the support of just 1 percent of those polled. His name will remain on the ballot, but he asked his supporters to instead vote for Lewis.
Sick leave
On the high-profile and controversial sick leave ordinance, the Albuquerque Journal poll found 48 percent of voters say they favor the proposal while 44 percent say they oppose. That leaves just 8 percent who say they are undecided as election day nears.
The poll would require business owners to provide paid sick time off to employees.
Republicans and business groups have come out in opposition to the proposal, while supporters say it would help workers who are sick or whose children are sick.
The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.9 percentage points. The pollster called 28 percent cellphone numbers and 52 percent landlines of “proven municipal election voters.” The poll took place between Sept. 26 and Sept. 28 and called 618 likely voters.
