Henry T. Perea still led with 27-percent of the vote but Ashley Swearengin is now just three points behind.
Tom Boyajian is running third with Jeff Eben fourth. The top two vote getters will likely meet in a November run-off.
The exclusive Action News poll showed Perea's lead over Swearengin has tightened from 30-25 percent 16 days ago to 27-24 percent in the latest survey. Perea said "I think our message of public safety, clean air and better jobs is really resonating with the community but we take these polls with a grain of salt. I'm still out here knocking on doors every day."
Swearengin is thrilled by the newest numbers. She feels she has the momentum going into the June election. She said "It's very encouraging and I have to say I don't take anything for granted though. We still have two weeks left. There's a lot of campaigning left to be done and a lot of people to reach so my nose is very squarely on the grindstone."
Former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson says the exclusive Action News poll shows a virtual tie between Swearengin and Perea. Patterson said "What I think is significant in this particular poll is that for the first time we're sampling as high as 30-percent of the respondents who have already voted. So this is the first snapshot we're seeing that gives us any indication of how voters are actually voting."
10-percent of those polled remain undecided.
Deputy Mayor Jeff Eben made the biggest jump in the survey, doubling his support from five to ten percent though he trails Tom Boyajian by two-points for the third spot. Eben said "We've seen ourselves since December of being right in the thick of the race so the good news about this particular poll is it's a pretty wide audience that sees it. It builds credibility in your campaign,"
Eben doesn't think it is a case of too little too late.
Voters have been inundated by campaign signs, mailings and radio and TV ads but Patterson wonders if their message is getting through. Patterson said "I think these campaigns are actually looking a bit boring and they've not really struck the imagination of the voters yet."
While Patterson says it appears to be a two candidate race for a run-off, others like Jeff Eben say it all depends on who actually turns out to vote on June 3rd.
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SurveyUSA Election Poll
Asked of 580 likely and actual voters. Margin of Sampling Error for this question = ± 4.2%
If the primary for Fresno mayor were today, and you were standing in the voting booth right now, who would you vote for? Jim Boswell? Tom Boyajian? Mike Dages? Jerry Duncan? Henry T. Perea? Ashley Swearengin? ? Jeff Eben? Doug Vagim Henry Monreal? Or, some other candidate?
2% Jim Boswell
12% Tom Boyajian
4% Mike Dages
9% Jerry Duncan
27% Henry T. Perea
24% Ashley Swearengin
10% Jeff Eben
2% Doug Vagim
1% Henry Monreal
10% Other / Undecided
