Special to the Vanguard
San Jose, CA – Sajid Khan’s campaign for Santa Clara County district attorney today released a new poll showing a close DA’s race against incumbent DA Jeff Rosen.
A polling memo from SEA Polling and Strategic design notes, “While Jeff Rosen has a clear name recognition advantage, it is by no means overwhelming as the horserace tests show. Despite being elected over a decade ago, Rosen has not defended his seat since that initial election. Consequently, his name recognition, while decent, is somewhat underwhelming.”
The polling finds that less than half the respondents were able to rate Rosen’s job performance as District Attorney. And by a two to one margin, voters were looking for someone new or would consider and alternative with just 17 percent saying he deserved to be reelected.
Despite this, Rosen in the polling holds the advantage. He leads challenges Daniel Chung, a former Santa Clara Prosecutor who was fired for criticizing the DA’s office and Public Defender Sajid Khan. Rosen had 20 percent to 10 percent for Chung and 8 percent for Khan. Another 62 percent remained undecided.
“Rosen’s 20% vote share is very similar to the 17% saying he deserved to be re-elected leaving a lot of room to grow for his opponents,” the polling memo noted.
When respondents were read a brief candidate description, however, “Khan climbs into a statistical dead heat at 27% with Rosen at 29%, Chung inching to 15% while undecided drops to 29%.”
The memo stated, “In a competitive communication environment, the race is effectively tied which is bad news for an incumbent of over 10 years.”
In the campaign’s release, they note, “The poll also found overwhelming support for Khan’s progressive policy agenda. Nearly 8 in 10 respondents support investing in alternatives to incarceration to help create law abiding citizens rather than repeat offenders, and nearly 9 in 10 respondents support increasing transparency and accountability for law enforcement.”
The polling was conducted December 14 through 16. The survey reached 74% cell phone and included 250 live calls and 100 TTW for a total sample of 350 likely voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 5.23.
I always question these polls, is there a link to the actual poll and what questions were asked and how the profiles of the candidates were presented to the voters?
For instance, if the people being polled were asked a question like “are you in favor of a law and order DA like Rosen who will be tougher on crime” I’ll bet their response would be at least 8 out of 10.
Nine in ten thought puppies were cute.
And four out of five dentists recommend Trident for their patients who chew gum.
Exactly, who would tell a telephone pollster that they were against investing in alternatives to incarceration to help create law abiding citizens rather than repeat offenders or supporting increased transparency and accountability for law enforcement.
I’m surprised it wasn’t 10 out of 10.
People seem to forget only one poll counts… the one that occurs when the election voters are tallied and certified… and some have shown they don’t even want THAT one to count…
Kahn!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRnSnfiUI54