JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – If last week’s poll of the governor’s race was an outlier in Chris Koster’s favor, this week might have returned the favor to Eric Greitens. The Republican trails Koster by only three points in the latest Missouri Times poll, after facing a 16 point deficit last week.
The polling shows less support for Koster and more support for Greitens. This week, Koster gets about 44 percent of support with Greitens at 41 percent. Last week the differential was 51-35. Like last week, 10 percent of likely voters said they were undecided.
The poll was conducted Oct. 4 through Oct. 5 by Remington Research Group on behalf of the Missouri Times. 1,588 likely voters participated in the survey. Its margin of error is plus or minus 2.64 percent.
The poll was conducted after last week’s debate, but it’s unclear how much of an impact the debate might have had. It was not televised.
This week, the Missouri Times also polled two ballot questions.
Amendment 3, the Early Childhood Health and Education Amendment, would raise the cigarette tax over several years to provide millions of dollars for early childhood education in Missouri. The poll shows a narrow lead for the amendment, 46-44 with 10 percent undecided.
The amendment has been hotly contested, both for voters and in the courtroom. While legal battles have resolved and the amendment will appear on the ballot, numerous groups have lined up on both sides of the issue.
Amendment 4, the Taxpayer Protection Amendment, would prohibit the state from instituting a sales tax on services.
The poll shows the amendment facing defeat 23-49, but it also showed that 27 percent of voters were undecided.
The amendment has been supported by the Missouri Realtors Association while no group has put forward opposition.
DEMOGRAPHICS
DMA
- Columbia 8%
- Joplin 3%
- Kansas City 24%
- Kirksville 1%
- Cape Girardeau 5%
- Hannibal 1%
- Springfield 15%
- St. Joseph 2%
- St. Louis 41%
PARTY
- Republican 36%
- Democrat 33%
- Non-Partisan 31%
GENDER
- Female 53%
- Male 47%
AGE
- 18-29 9%
- 30-39 14%
- 40-49 16%
- 50-69 41%
- 70+ 20%
RACE
- White 84%
- African-American 12%
- Other 4%
