A poll conducted for lieutenant governor candidate Bob Williams shows that although Hollis French, the other Democratic candidate for the seat, has a greater name recognition, French also has larger negatives than does Williams.
Williams, a teacher from Palmer, paid for the poll, which was conducted by EMC Research, a firm with offices in Washington state, California, Idaho and Oregon. It surveyed 400 likely primary voters from Feb. 4-7, and has a 4.9 percent margin of error.
It also shows that a majority of voters will not be voting for Gov. Sean Parnell and that his negatives are more than 40 percent. In the poll, only 25 percent knew who Democratic candidate Byron Mallott was.
Note: The poll did not mention independent candidate Bill Walker’s name, which makes the gubernatorial numbers suspect.
The narrative accompanying the numbers says that French has “limited appeal outside of the base,” and that Williams has “significant upside potential with a strong ability to appeal to voters across the board.”
Williams is a political neophyte. However, he surprised many by reporting having raised more than $63,000 in his last report.
Here are some key numbers from the poll.
- 54 percent will not vote for Parnell. 16 percent will “definitely” vote for him, and 26 will “probably” vote for him.
- 40 percent have a negative view of Parnell.
- Mallott only has a 25 percent name ID.
- French has a 54 percent name ID.
- 22 percent have a negative view of French.
- Williams only has a 10 percent name ID.
Among those who have heard of him in Anchorage, Williams’ favorability ratings is 12 points higher than French’s.
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com
The MYERS/RENSEL ticket is also in this race.
Hi Numbers Guy,
Good question on the omission of Walker. I commissioned a poll to see if what I’ve been hearing in conversations with hundreds and hundreds of Alaskans could be backed up by a respected third party, the polling firm. I am happy that the results showed that my candidacy has the potential for broad appeal.
Byron Mallott has been polling well ahead of Bill Walker in other polls and adding more matchups would have made my poll more expensive. I wanted a high quality poll and needed to limit the quantity of questions and topics to stay affordable.
As a Democratic candidate for Lt Governor and an enthusiastic supporter for Byron, I wanted to know the extent of the non-Parnell vote that is out there to capture. I can’t wait for Byron to bring sanity back to the Governor’s mansion. This poll shows that Governor Parnell is vulnerable and that with hard work and effort, he can be replaced.
Hope this answers your question and I love that you go by “numbers guy.”
All the best,
Bob Williams
facebook.com/bobwilliamsforalaska
I don’t presume voters would need to be stoned in order to support my opponent’s candidacy and would appreciate the same benefit of the doubt for those that support me, Bob Williams for Lt Governor.
“Hollis will so win the D primary that it won’t even be a race. Sure, Williams is a nice guy. He just isn’t a factor in this race. Sorry to bust your bubble.”
Strong words that have sort of a condescending tone and you don’t even know me. I had a principal once tell me that I would never make a difference in teacher retention in a village where I was working as a statewide mentor. I smiled and worked even harder and proved him wrong. For the first time that most could remember, all the teachers signed contracts to return the next year in the village. It wasn’t all because of me but I played a crucial role. I modeled lessons and helped teachers become more effective. When a teachers feels ineffective, they are miserable. When teachers feel effective and see students learning, it is awesome, powerful, inspiring and makes teachers realize why they chose such a great profession.
I was inside many of the conversations when teachers were deciding to stay or go. I worked hard to have positive trusting relationships with the teachers I mentored. I made a difference. I am doing the same thing in this race: working hard, building trust, winning over those that are dismissive.
The general election will be decided by which ticket can pull in the most non-affiliated voters along with where the moderate republicans fall. Look at the polling memo at facebook.com/bobwilliamsforalaska We need a ticket that wins. Based on my calls across Alaska, conversations across the Alaska, conversations at my fundraisers and backed up by this poll, I plan to be the Lt Governor candidate that brings in the voters so we’ll be saying Governor Mallott this November.
I look forward to your support in the general. 🙂
All the best,
Bob Williams
To my colleague “midtown democrat” –
What are you smoking? Be careful, the marijuana initiative hasn’t passed yet. Hollis will so win the D primary that it won’t even be a race. Sure, Williams is a nice guy. He just isn’t a factor in this race. Sorry to bust your bubble. The good news from the poll are Parnell’s ever declining levels of support and rising negatives. His WAR ON WOMEN, his disregard of the less fortunate, his give aways to Big Oil and saying NO to medicaid expansion are just some of the reasons he continues to lose support. He is not a leader. He is bland. His administration is full of second stringers. Don Young aptly coined it best when he called him Captain Zero. The chances of a Mallott-French ticket seem to be improving daily.
We do need to hear about Walker. Both Williams and Walker will be snubbed and marginalized especially Walker the independent.
The Alaska ruling class will certainly not support the appearance of any new names in Alaska politics nor tolerate a political independent who, if a legislator, might refuse to join the secretive standing caucus which governs based on the quid pro quo. They want only those proven to play well with them. That is why they will never prohibit incumbents from running for other elected offices.
Also, encouraging to see that Alaskans seem to be willing to hold Sean Parnell responsible for the fiscal mess he created over the last five years. .
I’m starting to get a little bit excited ab Williams’ candidacy. His enthusiasm is a bit contagious and inspirational. He seems to look at old issues with a fresh perspective. Hollis French is a good guy but he has failed as a statewide candidate. His approach and answers to yesterday’s problems are both too predictable and tend to be rants instead of solutions. He offers nothing to our party’s ticket in November where I think that Williams might be a fresh face that people will respond to. I recognize the limited carry a lite gov candidate has; nonetheless, every vote is a vote.
I’ve known Bob Williams for the past several years. He’s a great teacher. He’d also be a great elected offocoal. He’s passionate, smart, upbeat and extremely honest. I’d encouurage you to take the time to get to know him. He’s worth supporting. His campaign is truly grass roots and is starting to catch on.
If these numbers are reliable, Parnell is in trouble with the electorate. Up to seeing these numbers, I thought he was relatively invinceable. Now, I’d say he’s lucky if holds onto his seat.
Why do a poll and not include Walker? This is indeed suspect and I’m sure their is some logic behind the ommission. Mr. Williams, I admit, is an interesting candidate. He needs to get to be known by the state’s public opinion makers and political contributors. I see your blog is accepting ads now. If I were his (Williams’) consultant or campaign manager, I would suggest that he consider placing an ad on your site as I believe it is frequented by the state’s movers and shakers. Parnell’s numbers should concern Republicans. If any of his opponents can get traction, he could be in serious trouble. I’d like to see Bob Williams catch on. He seems like a postive fresh face. God knows we need some of them. Possibly this year could emerge as the year when the public is more interested in the lite governors primaries than usual.