PETERSON APPROVAL RATINGS FALL
More than half of likely voters in a new poll of the Indianapolis Mayor’s race say they will vote for someone other than incumbent Bart Peterson.
Fifty-three percent of those surveyed say they want a new person in office, while 41 percent say would definitely or probably vote for the Mayor. This is a sharp drop from the Mayor’s approval rating of 58 percent last year. The poll was taken last week by Public Opinion Strategies and it surveyed 300 likely Marion County voters and has a plus or minus error of five points.
The poll also showed 64 percent of residents thought Marion County was on the wrong track and taxes and crime topped the list of voter concerns. And only 23 percent of voters say they will definitely vote for Peterson while 38 percent say the definitely vote against the Mayor.
The poll still has incumbent Mayor Peterson beating challenger Greg Ballard. Ballard is only known to 18 percent of voters; however he beats Peterson with 51 percent of the vote between voters who know both candidates.
The news also doesn’t look that great for Council Democrats. Forty-six percent of voters say they will vote for someone new on the Council, while 22 percent say they will vote for their current Council member. And more voters trust Republicans to handle the County’s rising tax issues than Democrats
Some other items of note, the poll’s respondents were 70 percent white and 23 percent black. Public Opinion Strategies (POS) conducted the poll for the Marion County Republican Party. POS also predicted wins in the past for Governor Mitch Daniels, Secretary of State Todd Rokita and Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi.
