ST. LOUIS – A poll commissioned by the Missouri Times and performed by the Remington Research Group found Alderman Lyda Krewson has a firm lead in the St. Louis mayor’s race with 27 percent of the vote.
While 26 percent of voters remain undecided, Krewson’s lead puts her atop other top contenders like President of the St. Louis Board of Alderman Lewis Reed (18 percent) and fellow Alderman Antonio French (13 percent). Krewson also has the backing of the St. Louis Police Officers’ Association, and the woman from Ward 28 has a fundraising advantage over most of the field. Her January Quarterly Report with the Missouri Ethics Commission filed Jan. 15 revealed she has $437,000 on hand; Reed, the next closest fundraiser, has just over $252,000.
St. Louis City Treasurer Tishaura Jones rests at 9 percent. Jones has gone on the defensive in recent days over criticism for trips she took that amounted to a collective cost of $27,000 to St. Louis taxpayers over the past three years. She has defended the trips as being work-related.
Jeffrey Boyd, Bill Haas, and Jimmie Matthews all polled below 5 percent.
The poll is also sharply divided along racial line. An overwhelming plurality of white voters (42 percent) support Krewson, while the black vote is split between Reed (24 percent), French (18 percent) and Jones (14 percent). Krewson only has 11 percent of the black vote, but she also leads among people who consider themselves a race other than white or black.
Should Krewson win, she would become the first female to hold St. Louis City’s highest elected office.
The survey was conducted from Jan. 17 to 18 of 949 Democratic voters, and it was weighted to match expected turnout demographics. The margin of error is 3.16 percent.
