Polling done by the congressional campaign of Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White has him well ahead of other Republicans considering the race and also beating two Democrats he could face in next year’s general election.
The poll, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, found that 51 percent of likely voters in the First Congressional District have a favorable opinion of White, while an impressively low 15 percent have an unfavorable opinion. Some 74 percent know his name, and even 48 percent of Democrats surveyed view him favorably.
You can read the company’s polling memo to White’s campaign by clicking here.
The poll put him in a potential primary race against state Sens. Mark Boitano, Joe Carraro and Diane Synder and Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones. Of the Republicans surveyed, 61 percent said they would vote for White, while 6 percent picked Carraro, 4 percent picked Boitano, 3 percent picked Arnold-Jones and 1 percent picked Snyder.
Thus far, White is the only Republican who has entered the race, but the others are considering running.
The poll also tested White against Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich, who is currently the frontrunner on the Democratic side of the race, and former Attorney General Patricia Madrid, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for the seat last year and may consider running again.
The poll found White had 51 percent to
The survey of 400 likely voters, conducted Oct. 8 and 9, has a margin of error of 4.9 percent.
If the poll considered the other Democrats who have entered the race, attorney Jon Adams and former state Health Secretary Michelle Lujan Grisham, the company’s polling memo doesn’t indicate it.