Bob Buckhorn looks strong in new internal poll

Bob Buckhorn isn’t facing serious opposition in his bid for re-election this year, and an internal poll conducted late last year by his campaign shows why nobody of note is even attempting a challenge.

The survey conducted by Virginia-based Frederick Polls last November shows that 67 percent of citizens in Tampa support the mayor’s reelection bid. That’s 10 percent higher than a similar survey taken by Frederick Polls in May of 2014.

There is strong support for the mayor across the board: 79 percent of Democrats support him, 58 percent of independents and 52 percent of Republicans.

Amongst Republicans, Buckhorn is much more popular with women, with 66 percent of GOP females in support, and just 39 percent of men (his lowest ranking in any category).

But conversely amongst independent voters, over 20 percent more men (63 percent) support Buckhorn than do women (42 percent).

Amongst whites, Buckhorn gets 77 percent approval, and 76 percent from blacks.

The Bob Buckhorn “brand” generates a 74 percent favorability rating, with only 16 percent unfavorable.

In terms of the direction of the city, 58 percent say Tampa is going in the right direction, 15 percent say it’s going in the wrong direction, and 27 percent say that they are ambivalent or not sure how to feel about the city.

In terms of the generations, younger voters under 40 (67 percent) and older voters 65 + (63 percent) are positive about Tampa’s direction. The pollsters write that “Republicans are especially boosterish in this Democratic majority city.” They also say that being being positive correlates with wanting to reelect the mayor, showing the wisdom of a “swagger message.”

Frederick Polls have been long term pollsters for Buckhorn throughout his political career. This survey was taken of 300 people last November. 79 percent of those surveyed were by landline, 21 percent by cellphone.

The mayor is opposed by write-in candidate Jose Vazquez on March 3. Because there are only two candidates running, there will be no runoff election in the mayoral contest.