Poll also shows more voters view Haaland unfavorably than favorable
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A new KOB 4 poll shows Deb Haaland leads Gregg Hull 47% to 41% in New Mexico’s governor race, with 12% of likely voters still undecided.
KOB 4 had SurveyUSA poll 567 likely voters on a head to head matchup.
The poll shows Haaland, the Democratic nominee, ahead of Hull, the Republican.
Among women, Haaland leads Hull 54% to 33%. Among men, Hull leads by 8 points, 48% to 40%.
Haaland leads voters ages 18 to 49 by 13 points, 47% to 43%. Among voters 50 and older, she leads by 1 point, 47% to 46%.
Independent voters could play a key role in the race. In the KOB 4 poll, Haaland leads Hull 44% to 34% with that group, while 22% remain undecided.
Who did voters find more favorable?
KOB 4 also looked at favorability ratings. SurveyUSA asked 673 registered voters whether they viewed each candidate favorably or unfavorably.
For Hull, 29% said favorable and 21% said unfavorable. Another 24% said neutral and 27% said they are not familiar with him.
Among independent voters, 21% view Hull favorably compared with 26% who view him unfavorably.
Haaland’s numbers look different. The poll shows 31% of 673 likely voters view her favorably, while 35% view her unfavorably.
Another 19% said they are neutral and 16% said they are unfamiliar with her. Among independent voters, 21% view Haaland favorably and 32% view her unfavorably.
University of New Mexico Professor Tim Krebs said Haaland’s campaign would likely want a stronger lead, but he said Democrats still have reason to feel encouraged. He weighed in on the Haaland leading in a head-to-head despite her favorability ratings in the polls.
“I think the country is in an anti-incumbent mood…. I think that Deb Haaland is more associated with the establishment then Gregg Hull is, so some of that’s hurting her right now, at the end of the day though… it is a blue state, and the democrats are highly motivated to vote this time around,” said Krebs.
