Bibb Leads Kelley In Cleveland Mayoral Election Poll

CLEVELAND — Justin Bibb holds an early lead over Kevin Kelley in the race to become Cleveland's next mayor.

Baldwin Wallace University's Community Research Institute released its latest survey of likely Cleveland voters this week. Bibb is leading Kelley 34 percent to 25 percent among voters, though 40 percent of the electorate is yet to decide who they'll vote for, the survey found.

"In our snapshot of voter preference, Justin Bibb continues the strong lead he held coming out of the primary, but there is a large group of undecided voters," said Tom Sutton, director of the institute. "It's likely that the 40 percent who are undecided includes a mix of primary voters who chose a candidate other than Bibb or Kelley. Each candidate has received endorsements from East Side primary opponents (Zach Reed for Bibb, and Basheer Jones for Kelley)."

Live in Cleveland? Click here to subscribe to our free breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox and mobile devices. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and download our free mobile app on Android or iPhone.

Bibb led all candidates in the September primary. As the November election approaches, Bibb leads Kelley among all demographics, the survey found, including a 26-point lead (34-18) among Black voters, a 10-point lead among Hispanic voters (34-24) and a narrow, three-point lead among white voters (35-32).

The three primary concerns cited by voters this election season are safety, quality of school and police response/police treatment of residents.

"Public safety and education are top of mind for Cleveland voters," Sutton said. "Timely response and how residents are treated by police are persistent concerns."

The Community Research Institute surveyed 419 Cleveland voters between Sept. 27 and Oct. 8. Responses were gathered both via phone and over the Internet. The margin of error for the survey is 5.1 percent.

To see the full survey, visit the Baldwin Wallace University website.