{"id":11406,"date":"2014-10-31T09:11:54","date_gmt":"2014-10-31T09:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/viconsortium.com\/?p=11406"},"modified":"2014-10-31T09:13:01","modified_gmt":"2014-10-31T09:13:01","slug":"uvi-conducts-first-election-poll-gubernatorial-race-close-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.viconsortium.com\/?p=11406","title":{"rendered":"UVI Conducts First-Ever Election Poll, Say Gubernatorial Race Too Close To Call"},"content":{"rendered":"

The University of the Virgin Islands Thursday released the results of \u00a0its first pre-election scientific poll*<\/sup>\u00a0for the U.S. Virgin Islands conducted by the University\u2019s Institute for Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness (ILOE) in collaboration with the Eastern Caribbean Center (ECC).<\/p>\n

Polling was conducted\u00a0Oct. 16-26 in an effort\u00a0to obtain a representative sample of how the territory\u2019s more than 44,000 registered voters feel about the candidates.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a scientific poll,\u201d noted Dr. Haldane Davies, vice president for Business Development and Innovation. \u201cWe went to great lengths to ensure the validity of the estimates and to ensure that we were reaching out to a wide cross-section of individuals across the Virgin Islands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davies pointed out that SSRS, a full-service social science research firm located in a\u00a0Philadelphia suburb, was contracted to assist in the process. Marketing Systems Group, a commercial firm, randomly selected 15,000 household and cellular phone numbers of territory residents, of which 688 registered voters were interviewed.<\/p>\n

Dr. Frank Mills, interim vice provost for Research and Public Service, said the poll has a margin of error of 3.7 percent. He cautioned voters not to view the results as a statement of who would win the election on November 4; rather, it is a\u00a0reflection of how voters felt at the time they were surveyed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot say with any certainty who would be the winner,\u201dMills said. \u201cIt is still a probability sample, which means, within the context of that margin of error, there is no certainty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gubernatorial Contest<\/strong><\/h4>\n

According to poll results, gubernatorial candidate Kenneth Mapp leads by a narrow margin of 5 percent over gubernatorial candidate Delegate Donna Christensen. When asked whom would they vote for if elections were called at the time of the interview, 28 percent of respondents said they would vote for Mapp, in comparison\u00a0to 23 percent who would vote for Christensen. Candidate Mona Barnes received 5 percent, and Soraya Diase-Coffelt garnered 4 percent. Less than one percent of those polled\u00a0said they would vote for Shelia Scullion.<\/p>\n

Dr. Mills pointed out that 29 percent of voters were undecided and said\u00a0those voters could decide the winner of the gubernatorial race.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a dead heat with these two,\u201d said Dr. Mills of Mapp and Christensen. \u201cThere is no guarantee that the one or the other is going to get to the finish line first. That is left for the 29 percent of voters to determine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mills went on to say the\u00a0poll results would only accurately reflect the choice of voters for a few days, since the views of the electorate often change over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat ever happened last week, does not guarantee that that\u2019s what happening today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Delegate to Congress Contest<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In the Delegate to Congress race, Stacey Plaskett leads with 61 percent of the votes, while Vince Danet follows with seven percent.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Legislative Contest<\/strong><\/h4>\n

For the Senatorial race, voters were asked: If the 2014 general election for senator of the U.S. Virgin Islands were being held today, for whom would you vote? They were given up to seven candidates from which to choose. The list below represents the results of the poll for the top seven senatorial candidates on St. Croix, St. Thomas, and the At-Large race:<\/p>\n

St. Croix Senatorial Poll<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Kurt Vialet \u2013 44 percent<\/p>\n

Terrence Nelson \u2013 32 percent<\/p>\n

Novelle Francis, Jr. \u2013 32 percent<\/p>\n

Kenneth Gittens \u2013 29 percent<\/p>\n

Nereida Rivera-O\u2019Reilly \u2013 27 percent<\/p>\n

Sammuel Sanes \u2013 27 percent<\/p>\n

Alicia Hansen \u2013 26 percent<\/p>\n

St. Thomas Senatorial Poll<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Marvin Blyden \u2013 24 percent<\/p>\n

Jeane Forde \u2013 24 percent<\/p>\n

Janette Millin Young \u2013 23 percent<\/p>\n

Clifford Graham \u2013 22 percent<\/p>\n

Myron Jackson \u2013 22 percent<\/p>\n

Tregenza Roach \u2013 19 percent<\/p>\n

Donald \u201cDucks\u201d Cole \u2013 19 percent<\/p>\n

Senator At-Large<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Almando \u201cRocky\u201d Liburd \u2013 47 percent<\/p>\n

Ronnie E. Jones \u2013 16 percent<\/p>\n

The poll was conducted following the conclusion of a UVI-hosted series of candidate forums held in October on both the St. Croix and St. Thomas campuses.<\/p>\n

A copy of the power point presentation, including the poll results is available from\u00a0Election Poll Results<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*\u00a0 The results of the poll represent the responses of individuals that were polled throughout the territory and do not reflect the views or opinions of the UVI Board of Trustees, the president, the administration, staff, faculty or students.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The University of the Virgin Islands Thursday released the results of \u00a0its first pre-election scientific poll*\u00a0for the U.S. Virgin Islands conducted by the University\u2019s Institute for Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness (ILOE) in collaboration with the Eastern Caribbean Center (ECC).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":11439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11,191,8,147],"tags":[752],"yoast_head":"\nUVI Conducts First-Ever Election Poll, Say Gubernatorial Race Too Close To Call - V.I. 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