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SALT LAKE CITY — A UtahPolicy.com poll gives incumbent Ralph Becker the early lead in the Salt Lake City mayor's race, but the survey was conducted before Democratic state Sen. Jim Dabakis' exit from the race.
Dabakis was Becker's closest competitor, according to poll results. One-third of respondents said they would vote for Becker; 16 percent for Dabakis; 12 percent for former state Rep. Jackie Biskupski; and 9 percent for Salt Lake City Council Chairman Luke Garrott.
The telephone and online poll of 366 registered votes was conducted April 9-15 by Dan Jones & Associates. It has a 5.1 percent margin of error.
When Dabakis left the race Wednesday, he threw his support to Biskupski. Between his endorsement and polling 12 percent early in the race, Biskupski said the poll results were promising.
"I'm very excited about it. We did some polling last summer before I decided to get into this race. What I'm seeing is a very positive trend. Clearly people aren't as excited about Ralph seeking a third term as his campaign has been portraying," she said.
But Matt Lyon, Becker's campaign strategist, said the poll results indicate the incumbent mayor has nearly twice as much support as his closest competitor.
"We've got a third of the electorate kind of locked up and kind of solid. We haven't really started a campaign. All we really need is 15 percent of the remaining group to put us over 50 percent. Fifteen percent of that 65 percent that's kind of hanging out there is not a big lift," Lyon said.
Asked if he had left the race prematurely, Dabakis said he had no regrets.
"In a way, it's exhilarating being out. It’s a big responsibility to come up with $600,000 or $700,000. The mayor already has $340,000 in his account, and he’s probably going to raise who knows how much more," Dabakis said.
"It’s a tough fight and (Becker) has a terrific political machine so it’s not going to be easy," he said, "but the poll numbers have to be very scary for the mayor. It will be interesting to see if Jackie can take advantage of that. I think she can."
Garrott, whose mayoral campaign is kicking off Saturday, said the poll was conducted too early to draw any conclusions about the race.
"Things will be different by the primary. It's not surprising that Ralph is polling well. He's had eight years to get his message across. There may be another Dabakis of the week who jumps in. It's very early. I'm confident that my message will resonate with voters all summer long," he said.
More than half of the people who responded to the poll said they had a favorable impression of Becker, while 43 percent had a favorable view of Dabakis.
While 28 percent of voters said they viewed Biskupski favorably, 44 percent said they had never heard of her.
Fifty-two percent of respondents said they had not heard of Garrott, who represents District 4 on the City Council.
Both said they believe they will become better known to Salt Lake residents as their campaigns get underway.
"I've got a message about working families, about opportunities for children and real action on air quality that will resound with voters. I will have a robust field campaign, no question about that," said Garrott, who was elected to the City Council in 2007.
Biskupski, who served in the Utah Legislature for 13 years, stepped away from public life in 2011 after adopting a son and moving out of the district.
"We've been canvassing. The canvassing is even better than the poll you're seeing. What we're finding on the doorsteps as we survey and people get a chance to get to know me or be reminded who I am, then they go, 'Yeah, OK,' and they are very excited about the opportunity to support me," she said.
