The campaign of Democratic D.A. candidate Steve Mulroy has released a poll showing that their man leads incumbent Republican Amy Weirich by 50 percent of those polled for him, compared to 38 percent for Weirich, with 12 percent undecided.
Blueprint Polling, which conducted the poll from May 26th to May 30th, conducted a random survey of 350 registered voters in Shelby County.
A press release from Blueprint says the firm contacted people on both landlines and via cellphones, and “weighted the sample by age, race, and gender based on previous August general election turnouts.” The margin of error was estimated as plus or minus 5.24 percent.
Noting that a previous poll with 26 percent undecided showed the same 12-point margin for Mulroy, Blueprint says the results suggest “that Steve Mulroy has ample room to grow into his Democratic base, especially with women voters — who are four times more likely to be undecided and are more likely to lean Democratic.
“Republicans are decided: only 4 percent say they are unsure about their vote. Democrats are more likely to be undecided, suggesting more potential to widen the lead. Weirich would have to capture all the undecideds, plus bring back at least some Mulroy supporters, in order to win.”
In an accompanying press release, the Mulroy campaign says it has attracted significant national attention. “A recent Huffington Post article highlighted DA Weirich’s inability to reduce crime in Shelby County. The article referenced Steve Mulroy as being ‘for a shift in Memphis’ criminal justice system and supports reform efforts …’ The article also noted Memphis’ record-breaking homicide years while the majority Black residents have been ‘… hurt by her ruthless approach.’”
The campaign also notes that singer/songwriter John Legend, citing the Mulroy-Weirich contest, has tweeted to some 13.8 million followers that “District Attorney elections are crucial to improving our legal system” and that Innocence Project co-founder Barry Scheck has also weighed in on the race, saying that “Shelby County deserves a change. …”
Weirich responded to the Mulroy press release with this statement: “It sounds like Professor Mulroy is having trouble raising money and is cooking up bogus poll numbers to try and get donations. When your entire platform is built around freeing criminals from jail, it’s hard to raise money beyond the radical out-of-town Defund the Police activists.”
