Scanlon claims frontrunner status after slew of polls
Campaigns for 5th U.S. Congressional District candidates Mary Gay Scanlon and Lindy Li released information that show them leading or moving up in a variety of polls as 10 candidates vie for the Democratic nomination in less than a week.
Scanlon, an attorney and former Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board member, and American Association for Cancer Research trustee Li join a crowded field with teacher and environmental advocate Lawrence Arata of Haverford; state Rep. Margo Davidson, D-164 of Upper Darby; Chester Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland; former Philadelphia Deputy Mayor for Labor Rich Lazer; former U.S. Assistant Attorney Ashley Lunkenheimer of Upper Providence; scientist Dr. Molly Sheehan of Philadelphia; state Rep. Greg Vitali D-166, of Haverford; and entrepreneur Theresa Wright of Norristown in seeking to be the Democratic nominee for the 5th District.
Whoever wins the May 15 primary will face Republican Pearl Kim, a former state senior deputy attorney general and Radnor resident, in the fall.
At the end of April, the leftleaning Public Policy Polling found that 18 percent of likely Democratic voters would pick Scanlon if the election was held that day and another 17 percent would chose Vitali.
Another survey conducted at a similar time was done by Independence Communications and Consulting with 858 individuals. In it, 17 percent of the respondents picked Scanlon; 13 percent picked Vitali and 12 percent picked Li. Another 10 percent picked Lunkenheimer and 7 percent each went to Lazer and Sheehan. Most – 27 percent – were undecided. This poll did not include information about Arata.
This poll showed Li was leading among younger voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.33 percent.
In an IVR poll conducted this past weekend with 638 Democratic primary voters by Chism Strategies Advocacy & Elections in Jackson, Miss., Scanlon was found to lead with 22.3 percent of the vote, with her strongest presence in Delaware County. The 5th District consists of all of Delaware County, a portion of southern and Southwest Philadelphia and a sliver of Montgomery County.
Vitali was chosen by 17.4 percent of the respondents, followed by Lunkenheimer with 10.8 percent of respondents and Lazer with 6.7 percent. However, Lazer showed strong in Philadelphia with more than 25 percent support there.
The margin of error for this poll was plus or minus 3.8 percent at a 95 percent confidence level.
Scanlon’s campaign issued a statement in releasing the results of this weekend’s poll that was paid for by Scanlon.
“This is the third publicly released poll that places Mary Gay Scanlon in the lead in the PA05 Democratic primary,” it said. “Mary Gay Scanlon is the clear frontrunner in this race.”