About the Poll
The Washington Poll is a non-partisan, academic survey research project
sponsored by the Washington Institute for the Study of Ethnicity & Race (WISER), a
research center at the University of Washington in the School of Social Sciences.
Political Science professor Matt Barreto is the Director of WISER and Principal
Investigator on this survey.
The survey was administered by telephone, by Pacific Market Research, in Renton,
WA, based on a randomly selected list of phone numbers using a list of registered
voters in Seattle, WA. Voters were screened and only likely voters were included.
The survey was in the field from July 28 – Aug 3, 2009. A total of 600 likely voters
throughout the city of Seattle were interviewed, yielding a 4.0% margin of error.
Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
2009 Seattle Mayoral Election
Candidate Favorability Ratings: For each, please tell me whether you have
heard of the person, and if your impression is favorable or unfavorable?
| Candidate | Favorable | Unfavorable | No Opinion/Never Heard |
| Barack Obama | 87% | 12% | 2% |
| Christine Gregoire | 78% | 21% | 2% |
| Greg Nickles | 40% | 50% | 8% |
| Jan Drago | 28% | 24% | 47% |
| James Donaldson | 19% | 7% | 73% |
| Mike McGinn | 20% | 8% | 71% |
| Joe Mallahan | 21% | 3% | 75% |
Citywide sample = 600 likely voters, +/- 4%
Most Important Issue:
Thinking about the Mayoral election, what are the most important issues facing the
city of Seattle that will influence your vote?
| Issue | Percent |
| Transportation–Alaskan Way | 30% |
| Transportation-Other | 25% |
| Jobs/Economy | 16% |
| Taxes | 13% |
| Schools/Education | 9% |
| The Environment | 6% |
| Crime | 6% |
*Respondents were able to give two answers
**Only issues with over a 5% return reported
Citywide sample = 600 likely voters, +/- 4%
Issues in Seattle
Do you think the mayor of Seattle should take an active role in working with the Seattle
Public School System to address issues such as poor performance and high drop out rates, or
is that something better addressed by the School Board alone without the mayor?
| Mayor should be involved | 48% |
| School Board Alone | 48% |
| Don’t Know | 4% |
When it comes to the economy here in Seattle, do you think the city should lower taxes on
small businesses to stimulate the economy, or that the tax revenue is important to
providing city services?
| Lower taxes on business | 42% |
| Tax revenue important | 41% |
| Don’t Know | 11 |
Citywide sample = 600 likely voters, +/- 4%