Minutes after general election results showed the top two mayoral candidates headed to a runoff, an outside group supporting incumbent Mayor Tim Keller shared polling with City Desk showing Keller with an early advantage over former Sheriff Darren White.
Ascend ABQ PAC polled 400 likely voters Oct. 16 -19 in anticipation of a runoff election. Among those who had a preference, 45% said they were likely to support Keller over White. White earned 38% of likely runoff votes. 17% say they would be undecided if those two candidates were their choices. The margin of error was 4.9%, according to GBAO pollsters who conducted the poll.
Because none of the six mayoral candidates in the Nov. 4 election earned more than 50%, the city charter requires the top two vote earners to advance to a runoff election on Dec. 9.
Keller, the only candidate to qualify for public financing, will receive just over $377,000 in new funding for that race. An outside group, Ascend ABQ, has raised and spent additional money in the general election in support of Keller. They remain active for the runoff and have $37,000 in cash on hand.
White is privately financed and also has an outside group, Change ABQ, ready to raise and spend money for the runoff, though it had just $137 in the bank on Monday afternoon.