A new poll has found Conservative candidate Jeromy Farkas and Liberal candidate Jyoti Gondek in a “dead heat,” but candidate Jeff Davison diverting support from Farkas may be just enough to put Gondek over the edge.
According to Common Sense Calgary’s survey of 4,636 Calgarians distributed across every Ward, Farkas now has a 1 per cent lead over Gondek, with 31 per cent supporting Farkas and 30 per cent supporting Gondek.
“Given the large sample size and small margin of error of this poll, this race is statistically a dead heat,” writes a pollster.
While the pollsters are confident in the accuracy of their polling methods, Davison, who has branded himself as the moderate Right candidate, may split the vote a significant enough margin to ensure Calgary continues to be ruled by Liberals.
Right now, Davison sits at 13 per cent and has a negligible chance of victory.
But more significantly, most voters who prefer him to Farkas would likely bite the bullet and vote for Farkas over Gondek should Davison drop out.
Moreover, Davison has adopted a tax freeze among his promoted policies — one of Farkas’s policies that have proven exceptionally popular — and has been overall more pro-business than his Liberal colleagues.
“My approach to municipal politics is to be more pragmatic,” Davison wrote in September. “I like to remain grounded and deal with what realistically can be done at the city level given the circumstances of each issue.”
Sounds like a reasonable, salt-of-the-earth Conservative, right?
However, this platform should be surprising to many, as both Gondek and Davison have been spotted attending a Liberal rally, which Farkas said: “shows their true colours.”
Calgary mayoral hopeful Jyoti Gondek is a friend of Justin Trudeau.
Her winning would be a death sentence for Calgary. pic.twitter.com/oriYvgxClS— Keean Bexte (@TheRealKeean) July 8, 2021
While Gondek has well-known ties to the Liberals and Justin Trudeau, Davison is acting as their unsuspecting pawn while simultaneously scalping voters from Farkas is dubious at best.
Indeed, that Davison has not stepped aside and asked his supporters to push Farkas over the top may be the critical decision that decides the outcome of the election.
