Thursday, June 17, 2010

Kyle Lierman Polls District 16

District 16 House candidate Kyle Lierman has launched a poll of District 16 voters. Because the poll was administered by Peter D. Hart, it must have been expensive – probably in five digit territory. One of the people who received a survey call was none other than incumbent Delegate Bill Frick! Here is our admittedly rough account of what questions the poll asked.

The poll began by asking the respondent for favorable/unfavorables on Governor Martin O’Malley, County Executive Ike Leggett, District 16 Senator Brian Frosh, District 16 Delegates Susan Lee and Bill Frick, Terry Lierman (who is Kyle’s father) and Council Member Duchy Trachtenberg, who has endorsed Lierman. Next, the surveyor asked if the respondent was likely to vote for Lee, Frick, Lierman, Ariana Kelly and Scott Goldberg. (Lierman must not consider the other candidates to be viable). The surveyor asked if the respondent was more likely to support a generic candidate endorsed by MCEA (in other words, Kelly) or a generic candidate who had “the independence to fight for reform” (presumably Lierman). Finally, the poll tested themes about Lierman, asking the respondent if he or she was more likely to support Lierman if he or she knew that Lierman’s parents “brought him up in politics and taught him service,” that he was “inspired by President Obama” and worked for him for a year and that, “Nobody knows the district better than Kyle Lierman.”

Polls like these are a luxury that few first-time candidates can afford, even if their usefulness is debatable. Lierman’s fund-raising must be going extremely well.