ST. LOUIS – A preliminary poll released Friday conducted for The Missouri Times indicates that the race to become the next mayor of St. Louis is crowded at the top.
St. Louis Police Commissioner Sam Dotson leads the pack in the Gravias Marketing poll with 17 percent, President of the St. Louis Board of Alderman Lewis Reed has 13 percent, and state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, has 12 percent.
Other contenders include Alderwoman Lyda Krewson (nine percent), St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones (eight percent), Collector of Revenue Gregory F.X. Daly (eight percent) and Alderman Antonio French (three percent).
While the poll is simply an early indicator, professor of political science David Kimball from the University of Missouri-St. Louis said it was simply too early to say much on the race given it will not occur until next year.
“We don’t even know who’s running yet,” he said. “I wouldn’t put too much stock in polls now because we don’t know who’s announced and a poll now is kind of a name ID test more than anything.”
The polling data may reinforce Kimball’s analysis: the top “candidate” so far is the undecided option, which garnered 27 percent of the vote.
Kimball added that the race would likely be divided along racial lines, as previous mayoral elections have been, and that crime and job growth would be major factors in determining the best candidate.
This race will be the first since 2001 in which incumbent mayor Francis Slay has not participated.
The poll has a large margin of error at +/- six percent. Three hundred registered voters in St. Louis were polled.
