SEATTLE – In the final KING 5 News poll before votes are counted on Tuesday, Dow Constantine has surged ahead of Susan Hutchison in the race for King County Executive.
The poll of 614 likely and actual voters, conducted by SurveyUSA, gives Constantine 53 percent of the vote over Hutchison's 43 percent. Five percent of voters remain undecided.
It's the first time that Constantine, the King County Council president, has led the former TV news anchor in a KING 5 poll. The last survey, taken three weeks ago, had Hutchison with a five point lead – a 15 point swing.
Sixty percent of respondents say they have already mailed in their ballots. Of those who have already voted, Constantine leads by 12 percent. Based on that, Hutchison would need to carry procrastinators by 14 points or more to win.
Women give a 3-to-2 margin to Constantine over Hutchison. The last poll had the candidates split in that category.
Hutchison has an overwhelming edge among Republicans and conservatives in the non-partisan race, while Constantine leads overwhelmingly among Democrats and liberals.
Voters who label themselves as independent slightly favor Hutchison while those classifying themselves as moderate give Constantine a double-digit advantage.
Less educated voters approve of Hutchison while Constantine has a double digit lead among more educated and more affluent voters.
The survey was conducted between Friday and Sunday.
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