A recent poll commissioned by Indy Politics and Crossroads Public Affairs finds U. S. Senator Mike Braun with a 3-to-1 lead on his next closest competitors in the Republican Primary for governor.
In a survey of 500 likely Republican Primary voters taken between March 24th and 25th, 33 percent say they’d vote for Braun, while Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch (11 percent), businessman Eric Doden (11 percent), and former Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers (10 percent) are all huddled in a statistical tie for second. Former Attorney General Curtis Hill is getting 5 percent, and Jamie Reitenour is at 1 percent.
However, nearly a third of the electorate – 30 percent – are still undecided, making this a mad dash in the final weeks of the campaign.
Pollster Andrew Weissert had this to say. “Mike Braun is obviously the clear front-runner since he’s up by 20-points. If you’re trying to detect a trend or read the tea leaves, you should look at self-identifying very conservative voters because they’re the largest ideological voting bloc of the electorate and can quickly swing Republican primaries. Braun is winning them with 39% with the next closest being Doden at 11%. So, Braun is safe, at the moment, with the far-right flank of the party.”
“To catch Braun, you’ll need to bring down his ballot and grow your own. With second place a cluster of Crouch, Doden, and Chambers there isn’t a clear alternative to Braun. That’s good for Braun and creates a challenging situation for any of the three to separate themselves from the other two.”
Weissert also found that Governor Holcomb’s approval ratings among undecided likely voters were near 60 per cent.
In addition to the primary ballot, we asked which candidate voters think will have a greater focus on supporting small businesses and entrepreneurship. 32 percent chose Braun, with Chambers getting 14 percent, Doden getting 11 percent, and Crouch at 8 percent and 31 percent were unsure or didn’t know.
Asked which candidate they think will do the best job in supporting an increase in affordable housing, 23 percent chose Braun, while Doden got 10 percent, and Chambers and Crouch were tied at 9 percent%; 44 percent were unsure or didn’t know.
