T.K. Waters, the Republican candidate for Jacksonville sheriff, leads Democratic opponent Lakesha Burton by 5 points in a poll released Monday.
The poll by the Public Opinion Research Lab at the University of North Florida shows Waters with 48% of the vote and Burton with 43%. But 9% — enough to sway the outcome — said they did not know how they would vote or they did not answer.
Early in-person voting is underway, and Election Day is Nov. 8.
“This race has gotten a lot tighter since the first election back in August when T.K. Waters came in with a 14-point lead,” commented Michael Binder, faculty director of the research lab and a UNF professor of political science. “It’s important to note that a good portion (12%) of likely Democrat voters either don’t know or refused to say who they’re voting for, and if they end up voting party lines, it could boost Burton’s chances.”
QUIZ: How well do you know the Jacksonville sheriff candidates?
The poll of likely voters was conducted Oct. 20-27 by telephone. The margin of error is +/- 4.7 percentage points.
Waters garnered 46.7% of the vote and Burton 32.8% in a special election between five candidates on Aug. 23. Since no candidates received more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers face off Nov. 8.
