Utah Governor Gary Herbert is polling well ahead of Republican challenger Jonathan Johnson according to the latest Utah Policy poll. But Herbert’s GOP challenger Jonathan Johnson doesn’t believe the poll is accurate.
Utah Policy asked 284 registered Republican voters statewide who they would vote for if the GOP primary were held today. The results showed Herbert leading Johnson 74-19 percent While the primary is closed to only registered members of the state GOP, Utah policy polled non Republican voters as well. The results that included both Republican and non-Republican voters showed Herbert leading Johnson 62-33 percent.
Herbert’s campaign manager Marty Carpenter says he’s not surprised.
“He’s a very popular governor,” Carpenter says. “Has strong support amongst Utahns and amongst Republicans, so strong numbers for us, but nothing that we take for granted.”
In a statement, Jonathan Johnson called Utah Policy’s numbers “outlandishly wrong”, accusing the news organization of attempting to influence the governor’s race. He questioned the accuracy of the poll considering the firm Dan Jones and Associates conducts polls for both Utah Policy and the Herbert Campaign.
Utah Policy Managing Editor Bryan Schott says the polls are completely independent.
“This is the third time that we have commissioned a head to head poll between Jonathan Johnson and Gary Herbert,” Schott says. “And all three times, the numbers have been remarkably consistent.”
Schott says the Utah Policy poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.04 percent.
The Primary Election will be held Tuesday, June 28th.