Corroon likely will be re-elected Salt Lake County mayor, poll finds
CORRECTION: A chart accompanying an article in Monday's Deseret Morning News concerning a poll on races in Salt Lake County should have indicated the margin of error is 6.5 percent.
Peter Corroon should be breathing easy.
It looks like the Democratic Salt Lake County mayor will breeze through the November election for another four years in office, according to a new poll.
But numbers mean little to Corroon, and he said he's still going to fight as hard as ever.
"I now face strong opposition from the opposing party and have been listed as their No. 1 priority to defeat. I need your help in this campaign to win," Corroon wrote in a letter to supporters on Friday.
"While I believe that I have good support from Republicans, Democrats and Independents, this race is far from what some describe as 'shoo-in.'"
If the election were held today, Corroon would win with 64 percent of the vote, according to a new Dan Jones & Associates poll conducted for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV. The survey of 242 Salt Lake County residents was conducted March 17-20 and has a margin of error of 2 percent.
Perennial candidate Joseph Irish garnered 9 percent of the vote, and Michael Renckert — the political unknown backed by the Salt Lake County Republican Party — earned just 3 percent.
Irish was the first Republican listed on the poll question, which likely could have been a factor in the survey results, pollster Dan Jones said.
Irish ran against Corroon in 2004 as a Personal Choice Party candidate, but jumped ship for the 2008 election.
"He's run several times before," Jones said. "He hasn't got a prayer unless he runs as a Republican."
While Renckert's numbers are low now, he'll end up as the Republican favorite if the race goes to a primary election in June, Jones said.
Jones attributed Renckert's dismal poll numbers to the fact that he waited until the last day of the filing period to announce his run for mayor. Plus, he's a political unknown.
Renckert, 47, is a field supervisor for Adult Probation and Parole at the Utah Department of Corrections. He lives in Sandy with his wife, Nicia, and five children.
Only 1 percent of those polled said they would vote for Constitution Party candidate Leonard Olds.
Any candidate will have a tough time ousting Corroon, Jones said.
"That would be very difficult because Corroon is very popular," he said.
Salt Lake County Councilman Randy Horiuchi appears on his way to victory this November as well.
The long-time Democratic county leader would earn 46 percent of the vote if the election were held today.
His Republican opponent, Stephen DeBry, would pull in 30 percent of the vote, according to the poll. DeBry is a captain with the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office and chief of police services in Holladay.
E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com
Recent comments
Mike is the one who needs to get a job. The County Council is part...
moleman | March 24, 2008 at 5:14 p.m.
I think that most of you need to wake up. Carroon was originaly...
Mike R. | March 24, 2008 at 3:31 p.m.
I don't mean to "hammer on" Dan Jones or to "call...
Carl | March 24, 2008 at 12:11 p.m.
