Atchison, Moore tied for lead in Saskatoon mayor race: poll

The incumbent and the rookie are the two top contenders for Saskatoon mayor according to the latest Mainstreet/Postmedia poll.

Don Atchison and Kelley Moore are now each sitting at 27 per cent support.

While the numbers remain the same for Moore after she took a slight lead in the polls last week, Atchison rebounded with a two per cent gain – which is within the margin of error.

Charlie Clark slipped four percentage points, to 19 per cent, while Devon Hein climbed up one to receive five per cent support.

“While on the surface it may not look like there has been much movement, the fundamentals of the race have changed significantly,” said David Valentin, executive vice-president of Mainstreet Research, in a news release Thursday.

“Following a successful debate hosted by the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and, perhaps just as importantly, thanksgiving dinner – we’re seeing now the make-up of each candidate’s support has changed and the profile of undecided voters have changed too.”

A one percentage point bump brings the latest number of undecided voters to 22 per cent. It’s a big change from two weeks ago, when undecided voters sat at 28 per cent – the highest of any poll during this campaign.

“Ultimately a large percentage of voters are either undecided or soft supporters of the candidates, which means there is still time for plenty of movement before election day,” Valentin said.

The Mainstreet/Postemedia poll was conducted Oct. 12 and surveyed 846 Saskatoon residents using a mixture of landlines and cellphones. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.37%, 19 times out of 20.