First poll gives Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu big lead in Congressional race
Apr 6, 2016, 4:33 PM
(Facebook Photo)
(Facebook Photo)
PHOENIX — The first numbers are out and they are encouraging for Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu’s congressional campaign.
In a survey of 387 likely Republican voters from Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, Babeu has a nearly 27 point lead over his closest political rivals.
Slightly more than 35.7 percent of those surveyed said that, if they were asked to vote in the district primary today, they would pick Babeu. Every other candidate came in with less than 9 percent of the vote.
“Babeu continues to dominate the crowded CD1 field,” Mike Noble, managing partner of OH Predictive Insights, the group behind the study, said in release.
Noble said Babeu has a 76.4 percent favorability rating, which is not surprising considering one-third of voters said their biggest concern is illegal immigration. Babeu has been tough on the issue in the past.
While the August primary is a good spell away, Wes Gullett, a partner at the firm and a Republican political consultant, said the results of the survey surprised him.
“We are only 118 days from the start of early voting and it is surprising that all the candidates but one are polling in the single digits,” he said in the same release. “Most of these candidates have run for major office and to be stuck under 10 percent means they will need serious campaign funding to create urgent momentum.”
However, the poll does not indicate a locked up race for Babeu. Slightly more than 37 percent of voters said they have not yet selected a candidate to support.
