New Chicago mayor poll shows Vallas ahead of Johnson as voters over 50 favor his campaign – NBC Chicago

Polling data continues to show a close race between Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson in the battle to become Chicago’s next mayor, with Vallas holding a slim lead in a new survey released this week.

This survey, produced by WGN-TV in partnership with Emerson College and The Hill, showed Vallas with a 46-41% lead over his rival, with 13% of voters saying they were undecided in the race.

The poll, which polled 1,000 “very likely” voters between March 23 and March 25, had a margin of error of +/- 3%.

Crime continues to be the top issue among voters, according to the poll, with younger voters leaning toward Johnson and Vallas having a commanding lead among voters 50 and older.

The results follow a poll conducted last week by Victory Research, which showed former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas still held a small lead over Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, but that lead has decreases.

According to the research group, Vallas saw his potential lead shrink from six points, the number reported in a poll conducted earlier in March, to two points.

Also note the percentage of respondents who say they are undecided. That number also dropped from 16% to 9.6%, according to the poll. Additionally, respondents were asked if their “decision was made” or if they could change their answers before April 4 and 15.5% said they could still change their mind.

The poll included responses from more than 800 likely voters in the second round of the election, and it has a margin of error of 3.45%.

According to Victory Research, the results showed Johnson was slightly ahead among female voters, a group in which Vallas had previously led. Geographically, Vallas was in the lead with voters on the northwest and southwest sides, while Johnson held “a wide lead” on the southern and western sides. . But the northern lakeside remains in play for both.

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Neither candidate also secured a majority among Hispanic voters, according to the results, though Vallas appears to hold a large lead among white voters while Johnson leads among black voters.

Vallas and Johnson qualified for the second round of elections out of a field of nine candidates, including incumbent mayor Lori Lightfoot. According to data from the Chicago Board of Elections, Vallas received 32.9% of the vote in the first round, while Johnson won 21.63% of the vote.

The pair continue to rack up endorsements in the race, including some high profile names.

Johnson has so far seen recent endorsements from former opponent Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders, among others.

Vallas has secured endorsements from former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and former opponent Willie Wilson, among others.