Salt Lake hopefuls are swaying 'undecideds'

Depending on how you look at it, the latest poll in Salt Lake City's mayoral race has three winners: Jenny Wilson, Rocky Anderson and "I don't know."

The Dan Jones & Associates survey of 400 Salt Lake City residents, conducted July 17-19 for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV, shows Wilson, a current Salt Lake County Council member, leading the pack of candidates with 23 percent support.

But the poll shows that slightly more — 24 percent — would "definitely" vote for Anderson, the current mayor, were he to run for re-election, which he has said he will not do. And even with that support, an Anderson candidacy would have to contend with the 48 percent of voters who say they definitely would not vote for him. The survey had a margin of error of 5 percent.

The biggest plurality is of undecideds: 26 percent of respondents are still unsure about whom they plan to support in the Sept. 11 primary.

"With four major candidates at this stage, we are mostly concerned about our own operations and executing our own plan," Wilson said. "Numbers are always a snapshot in time, and this encourages me that we're on track."

The results show little change in the horse race since Jones' last poll, an early April survey that showed Wilson in first place with 20 percent. The biggest changes have come as candidates have claimed their share of undecideds, who made up 44 percent of the last poll. All the top-tier candidates have gained supporters since the last poll.

Jones predicts intense pavement-pounding as candidates work to sway the remaining undecided voters to their camps. "In August, I look forward to some real hard work," he said.

Second place in the new poll goes to City Councilman Dave Buhler, who has climbed to 19 percent support, compared with 12 percent in April. House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake, has moved from 9 percent to 13 percent to tie for third place with former City Councilman Keith Christensen.

"We've been working hard," Buhler said. "I'm optimistic that as our message gets out more, I'll continue to move."

Christensen is the biggest gainer since the last poll, when he pulled only 4 percent support.

"Sept. 11 is the ultimate poll, and I'm confident that as more voters get to know what I offer in leadership and vision for the city, we'll continue to surge," he said.

His gains come after he recently announced he was registering as an independent after years of being a Republican, a move that some saw as politically risky for its potential to be viewed as a midstream image adjustment.

But Jones said Christensen's "declaring himself out of the Republican Party did not have the impact that some might have thought."