ST. LOUIS — A new poll shows St. Louis mayoral candidates Tishaura Jones and Cara Spencer in a statistical tie. The poll, which was conducted by political consulting firm Show Me Victories, shows Jones with 40% support among likely voters compared to Spencer’s 35%. The difference is inside the poll’s margin of error.
Jones and Spencer were the top two vote-getters in the March 2 primary election. The election was the first under the city’s new approval voting rules, which allowed residents to vote for as many of the four candidates as they wanted. Jones appeared on 57% of ballots cast and Spencer showed up on 46%.
The Show Me Victories poll released to 5 On Your Side Monday showed Jones winning among Black voters, those aged 18-39, north city residents and self-described progressives. While Spencer is buoyed by support from white voters, south city residents and self-described moderates.
The poll results closely mirror the results of the primary. Jones won 18 of the city’s wards, mostly in north city and those considered more progressive. Spencer won the remaining 10 wards, which included several that Mayor Lyda Krewson won in 2017.
The poll also found that 50% of those who voted for Jones cast a ballot for just one candidate in the primary, compared to just 29% of Spencer supporters who said they voted for only one candidate. (Editor's note: we received updated information regarding the percentage of Spencer supporters who voted for a single candidate. The story has been updated.)
Both candidates have an opportunity to pick up undecided voters. The poll found that one-quarter of those surveyed have not made up their mind who to support in the April 6 election.
You can view the complete results of the poll on the Show me Victories website.