A second poll released today shows former U.S. attorney Jenny Durkan is likely to make it through the August 1 primary for mayor of Seattle. But who makes it through the two-candidate primary with her remains anyone’s guess.
The Seattle Times reports that a poll by Wilson Strategic for the news site Washington State Wire puts Durkan in the lead and state Senator Bob Hasegawa in second place. That’s a notable difference from a KUOW/KING 5 poll released this morning showing former Mayor Mike McGinn in first place and Durkan in second, with Hasegawa in fourth.
While McGinn won 19 percent of the KUOW/KING 5 poll’s respondents, he got just 6 percent in the Wilson Strategic Poll. Lawyer and educator Nikkita Oliver received 9 percent of the KUOW/KING 5 poll and 3 percent of the Wilson Strategic poll.
Durkan has a significant fundraising lead on the other five frontrunners in the race for mayor, raising tens of thousands of dollars within the first week of announcing her campaign. She has now raised about $191,000. Durkan has been endorsed by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce’s political arm and by the Seattle Hotel Association, which last year sued to stop new protections against sexual assault and harassment for hotel workers.
When asked about incumbent Mayor Ed Murray, 22 percent of those who answered the Wilson Strategic poll said he would be their first choice. After a man who accused Murray of sexual abuse withdrew his lawsuit last week, Murray did not rule out a write-in campaign. But there’s little indication he’s seriously considering that possibility. (Two other men made similar accusations against Murray before the lawsuit; Murray has denied the allegations.)
In both polls, a bunch of people indicated they don’t know what the hell to do. The KUOW/KING 5 poll showed 38 percent of people undecided. The Wilson Strategic poll found 28 percent undecided and another 17 percent didn’t answer the question, according to the Times. The Times reports that Wilson Strategic polled 475 people; the KUOW/KING 5 poll asked 900 people, 800 of them registered voters.
Wilson Strategic’s pollster told the Times that Durkan’s campaign had nothing to do with his poll. Here’s an example from the Times of how the candidates were presented in the poll: “Durkan was described as ‘a former U.S. attorney who worked on police reform at the city of Seattle,’ and Moon was ‘a small-business owner and advocated against the waterfront tunnel.'”
Find out more about the six frontrunners for mayor here and find all of our coverage of the mayor’s race here.
Who are you supporting for mayor? Would you vote for Murray if he attempted a last-minute write-in campaign? Time for a legally binding Slog poll:
