The race for Denver mayor is wide open, with more than half of voters undecided and none of the candidates cracking the 10% support mark, according to a poll conducted earlier this month.
The poll shows former Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce executive Kelly Brough leading with 7.6% of the vote, followed by state Rep. Leslie Herod and former legislator Mike Johnston with 5.8% and 5.3%, respectively.
It was conducted by Chism Strategies and Cygnal, on behalf of a client based in Denver.
Andy Rougeot, the only Republican running in the race, secured 2.8% of the vote — although he enjoys the support of 10% of Republican respondents.
In many ways, the poll's results are unsurprising. Most of the candidates have yet to hit the airwaves and the crowded field of 17 mayoral aspirants likely means the race is headed for a runoff.
Among the candidates, only Brough, Johnston and at-large councilmember Debbie Ortega enjoy some visible level of bipartisan support. Herod has secured the backing of younger voters, particularly among those who are 18 to 34.
Johnston leads the second-choice ballot, according to the poll, which was conducted between Feb. 9 and 10 among 405 respondents.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.86 percentage points, which means the results could swing in either direction in significant ways, further scrambling the candidates' rankings.
Denver’s all-mail municipal election is set for April 4. If none of the candidates secures more than 50% of the vote, the top two candidates will face off in a runoff election in June.
