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WSB-TV poll: ATL mayoral race still waiting for its moment

5:29 pm October 1, 2009, by jgalloway

WSB-TV this afternoon posted the results of a poll conducted in partnership with InsiderAdvantage, showing the Atlanta mayoral race largely unchanged over the last 20 days.

The current headline on the TV station’s Web site declares Lisa Borders to be dropping, but all changes are within the poll’s 3.6 percent margin-of-error.

Which would indicate the little TV exposure purchased by two candidates – Borders and Kasim Reed – hasn’t made any measurable difference. And a runoff is all but certain.

According to WSB:

– On Sept. 11, Councilwoman Mary Norwood had the support of 33 percent of those polled. This latest poll puts her at 32.5 percent.

– Borders, the Atlanta city council president, was at 27 percent, and is now at 23.4 percent.

– Former state senator Kasim Reed was at 15 percent, and is now at 17 percent.

– The undecided vote has barely moved, from 23 percent in September to 24.1 percent.

And yes, InsiderAdvantage has provided crosstabs. We’ll link to them in the morning.

For instant updates, follow me on Twitter.

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37 comments Add your comment

Shin Jasher

October 1st, 2009
5:50 pm

Damn – undecideds have jumped in a month from 12% to 24.1%. I think that’s the real story (I said that on WSB-TV and they deleted my comment!). For all the crosstalk between these campaigns, is it any wonder that the non-politicos have no idea who they’re voting for?

Campaign staffers are gonna come on here and stick up for their candidate in 3…2…

Shin Jasher

October 1st, 2009
5:51 pm

Then again, it is rush hour. They could be stuck in traffic. :)

QObserver

October 1st, 2009
5:52 pm

Kasim Reed spent all of that money for 2 points!? Wow, after that kind of spending spree this poll must be a huge hit to his mayoral hopes. Borders and Norwood seems cashed up to make a huge run in the next month.

RaceCop

October 1st, 2009
5:53 pm

If a black doesn’t win then it is racism. I know, I am the RaceCop.

Jack Buck

October 1st, 2009
5:56 pm

Lisa Borders is going further and further down. It was interesting to find out that she’s a Republican puppet: http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0523.html

Bhead

October 1st, 2009
6:00 pm

Lisa Borders’s campaign is broke and broken. She has absolutely no momentum.

Black Jack

October 1st, 2009
6:00 pm

Atlanta Progressive News is one alien baby conspiracy away from being renamed Atlanta’s National Enquirer. @Jack Buck: It is interesting to find out that’s the source you use to inform your opinions.

Shin Jasher

October 1st, 2009
6:03 pm

Seriously…an APN article is your source? This just in — Mary Norwood the secret Mom of Bat Boy! (Squint hard and you can make it out around the mouth area.)

Shin humper

October 1st, 2009
6:07 pm

Nostrilis, Rep. Henry Waxman is the father of bat boy. He is this big lib hack douche congressman from california. He is the Tax and Cap guy. Norwood looks nothing like bat boy. Rep. Nostrilis H. Wazman is a dead ringer.

Shin humper

October 1st, 2009
6:09 pm

Look, I have proof.

http://wizbangblog.com/content/2009/01/15/batboy-lives.php

Shin Jasher

October 1st, 2009
6:10 pm

WOW. Sir Shin Humper, you win the Internet for today.

ATL by Way of TX

October 1st, 2009
10:20 pm

@ Bhead: wrong and wrong. More endorsements than all other candidates combined, including EMILY’S List which supports progressive female candidates nationwide. So Beavis Bhead and Butthead Jack Buck, thanks for providing us with some good laughs!

Parker

October 1st, 2009
10:29 pm

Borders’ numbers were bound to go down. The people of Atlanta can see through her facade. I heard she’s even advocating for the split of Fulton County.

newA

October 1st, 2009
10:45 pm

The only candidate gaining momentum is Reed. It is going to be Reed and Norwood in the run-off. When the one-on-one debates are televised, Reed is going to suprisingly pull off the win.

Atlanta Voter

October 1st, 2009
10:49 pm

There is only one poll that counts (the election) and the real battle over the airwaves and mailboxes is just beginning. With undecideds as high as they are, anyone making predictions on this site is foolish. Sen. Reed’s district is a tiny, tiny portion of the city of Atlanta and he has a long way to go.

I’m a super voter and I”ll be voting for the most qualified candidate… Lisa Borders.

realdem

October 1st, 2009
11:57 pm

No Surprise is Atl Progressive news is providing left cover for the only real Republican in the race (and their endorsed candidate) Mary Norwood. She is the only one who has consistently voted for Republicans. Would somebody with access to votebuilder PLEASE post a screenshot!

Politics At Its Finest

October 2nd, 2009
12:53 am

Who cares about this pole when the numbers are flawed?

Check the sources…. Republican pollsters aren’t really reliable in my book.

By the way, a Borders’ campaign worker (not volunteer) told me the campaign instructed workers to post support on the blogs…..
That is funny (and obvious)!

Politics At Its Finest

October 2nd, 2009
12:54 am

excuse me… poll. not pole. (I make myself laugh)

Terra

October 2nd, 2009
9:04 am

Anyone can see that Borders is consistently dropping in the polls while Kasim Reed is the ONLY candidate that continues to rise in the polls. Both of the top candidates have hit their peak and now everyone is seeing through their Republican and dirty political antics.

Raj

October 2nd, 2009
9:06 am

Lisa Borders is a racist, everyone knows this. Norwood just doesn’t seem to be genuine..she’s very aloof everytime I speak with her.

Jon Q. Peon

October 2nd, 2009
9:39 am

newA, sure hope you don’t really believe the pipe dream Reed has sold you like he has done with so many others in the past. You know like, “I’m gonna make you rich”, “We’re gonna ‘run’ this city”, etc.

First of all, he gonna lose – badly. Second, if by some miracle, he does pull it out, you will MOST DEFINITELY be kicked to the perverbial curb, like a one-night-stand at a convention.

Ask people who REALLY know the guy and/or have had business or other dealings with him; not the ones caught up in the hype of thinking they’re gonna get rich off of the citizens’ backs.

For anybody who REALLY knows him and his history, what’s glaringly obvious is who’s NOT with him. Nobody wants to been seen or associated with him, publicly or otherwise.

And if you DO know him and are STILL supporting him, shame on you. A reasonable person would have to conclude that you are a part of his cowardly clique of conniving, deceitful cohorts.

One way or the other, you are really clowning yourself. Don’t just take my word for it (that goes for all readers). Ask around – outside of your small, shallow circle. You won’t have to look far.

That goes for all of you that are championing his cause and repeating his “talking points” via this blog and otherwise.

And, NO! I am not blogging for Borders, Norwood OR Spikes. Believe it or not, there are actually well-informed citizens following this race who THINK and SPEAK for themselves.

BS

October 2nd, 2009
9:46 am

Jon Q. Peon, that whole mess you just put up just speak of ignorance blantant dumbness. Ask anyone who knows him why they are not around. Ok, how about gaining over 70% vote every year for the last 11 years in every race he’s won. Sounds to me like he has a lot more support than you my friend.

It’s people like you who try and do these personal dumb attacks that digusts the living crap out of me. Talking issues and politics is good and debateable, but to post foolish mess like that reeks of that dumb race memo. I sincerely hope you are not part of the people going to vote, I could care less who any of you vote for, vote based on the issues and not idiots who take time to write long lame posts with absolutely no facts to base it on. Please, enlighten us of some shady dealings. You are girl and type like a girl and what makes it bad, is you are man.

Exposure

October 2nd, 2009
9:51 am

Ok Lisa Borders has been exposed for the Republican she is. Now will you media folks quit playing games and expose Mary Norwood for her republican associations. She is a die hard Republican who feels that she helps homeless people by paying them pennies to pick up trash. CLUELESS, if you don’t believe try holding a conversation with her. But I know if we knock her out with some real fact finding then this will no longer be a race about race and that may not be so good for the media.

Tedros

October 2nd, 2009
10:06 am

I attended the debate/forum last night. I think Norwood is a decent candidate but she’s not facing reality in her attempt to stay above race and want to have a mature conversation. She said she’s been everywhere in the city, everywhere is diverse and never once has race been an issue. That is dumb. Has she seriously been towards Southwest in those areas. I for one grew up in Southwest and never met but 3 white students in all my schooling asides from a few white teachers. I understand her wanting to not evoke race and say ebverything is rosy with race relations, but that’s not a realistic view. This is still ATL, and I thought all the candidates addressed the question and responded in a mature but not racial mongering kind of way. I don’t think we need a mayor of Atlanta sitting there thinking there are no race issues. Exactly where is she walking through? Its one thing to and not a good thing to run a race based on race, however to act like everything is Rosy with race relations and ATL is as diverse as you can get is immature thinking and will lead her to being very ineffective in ATLANTA imo.

Jan

October 2nd, 2009
10:12 am

Tedros, that’s a good point you made.

RaceCop

October 2nd, 2009
10:33 am

RaceCop

October 1st, 2009
5:53 pm

If a black doesn’t win then it is racism. I know, I am the RaceCop.

Jon Q. Peon

October 2nd, 2009
10:56 am

BS, what in the Ham Sandwich are you talking about?! You are excactly correct re: Reed’s winning historical margins. What you are conveniently not mentioning for the readers is the fact that Reed has historically, consistently raised most of his money from rich REPUBLICANS, and thereby been able to print more signs, posters, banners, billboards and such. Ordinary citizens with the people’s interest at heart didn’t stand a chance against the “establishment” because they couldn’t compete with all the fanfare. And, this is a Mayoral race – not state Senate. I stand by my remarks. He doesn’t have substantive support – not even in his own community. That speaks volumes!

Like I said, do your real homework and ASK AROUND. And chill out with the personal silly a#% attacks. You don’t know my gender any more than you would know a slick-talking, disingenuous coward if he or she were staring you in the face. Your alias is perfect, ‘cauhatehat you’re talking is just that – in the name of somebody else at that. Sad and shallow.

Mary Norwood voting record

October 2nd, 2009
11:44 am

Mary B Norwood

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2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998
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Who's Kidding Who

October 2nd, 2009
12:21 pm

Okay okay already. Which of you actually believes that Borders or Reed, who have both raised most of their money (and built their careers) from Republicans or Republican interests, are going to serve yours or the community’s interests before they carry out the agendas of the people or factions who have essentially funded their campaigns and careers? Oh! but they get a “pass” because they claim Democrat, right?

The fact that you all would even be raising the “Republican” issue is laughable and hypocritical. It reeks of cronyism.

As I understand it, Spikes has contributed a chunk of his own money to his campaign, which reflects his independence. And Norwood certainly has not been a beneficiary of their “Republican” generosity. The Republican business community which feeds Reed and Borders (and their political allies) doesn’t support Mary, according to several published reports. Hmmm!

For those ‘Mary is a Republican’ hackers, please enlighten us all with facts (of which there likely are none) to support your dubious, flaccid assertions.

For that matter, all of the three leading candidates must be “closet” republicans.

As for those who are obviously in denial about the polls, and trying to discredit the pollsters, let’s not forget the fact that there have been several polls, by different polling agencies. And ALL of them (including Reed’s, and Borders’ – which she won’t release for some reason) have consistently shown Norwood leading at 30+ percent. All the other candidates have been scrambling the entire time to catch her. Refute that.

Wow, yall must be really afraid the “little white woman from Buckhead” is going to win – and do right by the community. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be such an effort to vilify a woman who has spent her career fighting for the interests of the citizens rather than the Republican or Democratic business community.

Norwood is not naive about race relations. She apparently is smart enough not to participate in race-baiting dialogue, so the other campaigns don’t have anything to sound-bite or use against her. It’s sorta like the good student in school that gets labeled “lame” because they don’t follow the “crowd” or succumb to peer pressure. They catch H— for doing the right thing.

Besides, labeling anyone as Republican in the context of this Mayoral race has an obvious racial undertone. Otherwise, what are you really saying? And why is it even worth mentioning? I guess it’s a code word for “They are not going to ‘look out’ for Black people” when they get elected. Well, if that’s the case, Reed and Borders certainly are not immune from the characterization based upon their fundraising benefactors. Even if they are not Republicans. They sure will be heavily influenced by them, as they have been in the past. How could they not be?

Check the disclosure reports. It’s public information for those who really want to be informed.

UhOhSpaggetiOh

October 2nd, 2009
12:34 pm

Well, well, well…Not only does Norwood have the most supporters – OF THE $ RAISED IN SOUTH ATLANTA NORWOOD HAS RAISED MORE THAN EVERY OTHER CANDIDATE COMBINED:

atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2009/10/05/story1.html

Intown Diva

October 2nd, 2009
12:35 pm

Lisa Borders will represent all the people! Vote Lisa for Mayor!

liz

October 3rd, 2009
2:02 pm

Norwood has worked for 8 years to solidify her grassroots support using her Council office budget to hold neighborhood meetings and to develop an elaborate citywide campaign network. She even hired a political adviser using public funds paying him thousands of dollars monthly to make introductions and to manage the relationships. Her mishandling of city funds was sanctioned by the Ethics Officer. Where is the ajc investigative reporters on this one? When asked why she broke the ethics riles, she claimed as she always does that she didn’t know the rules or didn’t understand. For 7 years the tax payers not her campaign paid for the development of her grassroots network. Yet now as a candidate she offers herself as a change for the better. Norwood’s brand of politics isn’t new. It isn’t even different. She’s cut from the mold we’ve seen before-dressed up, proped up and full of empty talk. Too bad for Atlanta voters that they don’t know the real Mary Norwood.

Truth be told

October 4th, 2009
3:18 pm

Anyone who argues that Borders isn’t a tool of the Republican business establishment is either lying or not paying attention. Face it, she is a black Republican who has never shown the slightest interest in poor or working people except when she is running for office. If she gets elected on the strength of the black vote it will be the biggest travesty in Atlanta history.

Truth be told

October 4th, 2009
3:36 pm

Quoted from the Atlanta Business Chronicle, October 2, 2009:

If you’re an Atlanta resident who contributed to a candidate in this year’s mayoral race, odds are you support Councilwoman Mary Norwood.

If you live in the metro suburbs but take an interest in Atlanta politics, your donation likely went to City Council President Lisa Borders.

Two of the leading candidates to succeed Shirley Franklin as Atlanta’s mayor are fueling their campaigns from different pumps, according to an independent analysis of financial disclosure forms provided to Atlanta Business Chronicle.

Norwood raised more than three-fourths of her campaign cash from inside the city limits during three reporting periods ending June 30. More than 72 percent of Borders’ money during that time came from the counties just outside of Atlanta.

To a lesser extent, former state Sen. Kasim Reed and attorney Jesse Spikes are relying on contributors from a third geographic pool: outside of Georgia.

See: http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2009/10/05/story1.html?b=1254715200^2193071

Sick of it...

October 5th, 2009
11:26 am

They are all full of it…you all have to much time on your hands and need to stop drinking the political Kool-aid. I’m sick of all this crap with no facts to back it up…I’m voting for Jesse Spikes!

Downtown Voter

October 5th, 2009
6:57 pm

Now is not the time to play these political games. I’m voting for Lisa Borders because I like her, I trust her, she is best on the issues, and think she will make a darn good mayor!

liz

October 6th, 2009
6:58 am

Reed has unusal expereince for Mayor and maybe is best in these times when state leverage is needed to address needs of city. Partnership with state would be a plus in all sorts of discussions. Can’t recall any mayor having the knowledge to work effectively with the state on a regular basis. Norwood just complains. Not a attribute needed in a mayor. Anyone can “travel around the city”. Who can build the Beltline, negotiate with Delta, fix the sewers, hire and retain police officers, answer the tough questions and avoid the big mistakes? Certainly not Norwood who has done little since 2002 other than build her grassroots network with city funding and now complains nothing works. I’m undecided between Reed and Borders but leaning Reed because of his unique expereince in state government.