SAN ANTONIO – A new poll shows Gina Ortiz Jones has increased her lead in voter support to nearly 13% in San Antonio’s mayoral race, but 45.2% of voters remain undecided or unfamiliar with the candidates.
UTSA’s Center for Public Opinion Research (CPOR) polled 685 likely San Antonio voters between April 7-9 as a follow-up to their survey in February.
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Respondents were asked nearly all the same questions with the same wording from February’s poll, which Ortiz Jones also led (9.3%).
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Out of the 27 candidates on the ballot, 18 of them are polling at less than 1%. Only nine candidates are polling above 3%.
John Courage trails Ortiz Jones at 7% while Beto Altamirano and Rolando Pablos are following close behind. Both are above 5% in the latest polling.
Manny Pelaez, Melissa Cabello Havrda, Adriana Rocha Garcia, Clayton Perry and Tim Westley each have between 3% and 5% in support.
Ortiz Jones, Pablos, Altamirano and Westley had the most growth in support since February’s results.
“This mayor’s race is very fluid, given the number of voters who are unsure,” CPOR director Bryan Gervais said in a news release. “A lot could change as the campaigns ramp up during early voting and voters make up their minds.”
“However, if voters keep breaking the way that they have, it appears that Jones is in a pretty solid position to advance to a run-off election,” Gervais added.
If none of the candidates receive more than 50% of the vote in the May 3 election, the top two finishers will face off in a June 7 runoff election.
CPOR’s polling data also shows that support for the planned downtown sports and entertainment district, known as “Project Marvel,” has weakened since February.
Opposition to the city and county’s redevelopment plans for part of Hemisfair into a sports and entertainment district increased to 44%, up from 36% in February. Meanwhile, support decreased to 34%, which is down from 41%.
Support for a Bexar County venue tax to pay for a new Spurs arena and a new San Antonio Missions arena has also dropped since February.
The percentage of those opposed to a new San Antonio Missions arena is 34% — the first time in CPOR’s polling that the stadium plan has fallen below 40% in support.
Since February’s polling, the city approved the next step towards the downtown ballpark and signed a memorandum of understanding for Project Marvel.
