HOUSTON – If an election for Houston Mayor was held today, no candidate approaches the majority required to win the seat outright and avoid a runoff, according to this latest SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for KPRC-TV in Houston.
The numbers give us a better look at who's leading the crowded field of candidates, with less than three weeks left before the Nov. 3 election.
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As of Oct. 15, State Representative Sylvester Turner finishes just ahead of the rest of the pack of 13 candidates with 20 percent of the vote; attorney Bill King gets 14 percent, neck-and-neck with former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia at 13 percent;, former US Representative Chris Bell with 12 percent, and City Council Member Stephen Costello at 11 percent.
Ben Hall and Marty McVey are in single digits. Three percent would vote for one of the other candidates on the ballot. Twenty-two percent today are undecided.
"There are a lot of undecided voters who really haven't started to think about the mayoral election, or are only starting to do so right now," Mark Jones, political science chair at Rice University, said.
Turner leads by 6:1 among African-Americans and is strong among older voters and Democrats. King is strong among those most concerned with the city budget. Garcia leads by more than 2:1 among Hispanics and edges out Turner among those voters who say city taxes and fees will be the most important issue in determining their vote for mayor.
1. In the election for mayor of Houston, how do you vote? (margin of error +/- 4.5%)
AMONG ALL VOTERS:
UNDECIDED: 22%
Sylvester Turner: 20%
Bill King: 14%
Adrian Garcia: 13%
Chris Bell: 12%
Steve Costello: 11%
Ben Hall: 4%
Martin McVey: 1%
OTHER: 3%
All seven of the above mayoral candidates will face off in the KPRC 2 & Telemundo Houston 'Decision 2015: Houston Mayoral Debate' on Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. You can watch both on air on KPRC 2 and online on Click2Houston.com.
Our exclusive poll also had some interesting results as it pertains to the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance. We'll reveal those numbers Friday morning on KPRC 2 News Today beginning at 5 a.m.
Poll Sampling/Filtering: 675 Houston adults were interviewed by SurveyUSA Oct. 12 through Oct. 14. Of the adults, 567 were registered to vote. Of the registered voters, 504 were determined by SurveyUSA to be likely to vote in the Nov. 3 general election. This research was conducted using blended sample, mixed-mode. Respondents reachable on a home telephone (61 percent of likely voters) were interviewed on their home telephone in the recorded voice of a professional announcer. Respondents not reachable on a home telephone (39 percent of likely voters) were shown a questionnaire on their smart phone, tablet or other electronic device.