Richard Berry
With 12 days before the Oct. 6 election, Richard Berry has a slight lead in the Albuquerque mayoral race, according to an Albuquerque Journal poll released late Saturday.
That will come as a surprise to many, but with Democrats Martin Chávez, the incumbent, and Richard Romero splitting the Democratic vote, perhaps it’s no surprise that Berry, a Republican, has a lead, even if this is supposedly a non-partisan race.
Berry had the support of 31 percent of the 406 registered, likely voters polled, while 26 percent supported Chávez and 24 percent supported Romero. Some 19 percent were undecided.
The survey was conducted Tuesday through Thursday and has a margin of error of 5 percentage points.
Brian Sanderoff, president of Research & Polling Inc., which conducted the poll, said the race isn’t over yet, and all three candidates are within striking distance. According to the Journal, “If no candidate wins more than 40 percent on Election Day, a runoff would be held Nov. 24 between the top two vote-getters in the Oct. 6 contest.”
Here’s how Sanderoff explained the results to the Journal:
“Richard Berry and Richard Romero have focused their criticism on Chávez — and this has taken its toll,” he said. “… Berry is consolidating Republican support, taking Republican votes away from Chávez. Romero is splitting Democratic voters with Chávez.”