TO: Interested Parties

FROM: Lori Weigel & Karoline McGrail / New Bridge Strategy

DATE: September 20, 2021
RE: San Jose Poll Key Findings

A recent citywide survey of voters1 in San Jose conducted by New Bridge Strategy shows Santa Clara
County Supervisor Cindy Chavez in a strong position versus other potential candidates in the 2022 San
Jose mayoral contest. Chavez benefits from her higher name recognition, higher favorable ratings and
strong support across virtually all voter segments for her work on creating affordable housing, working to
safely revamp the mental health and criminal justice systems and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The San Jose Police Officers’ Association commissioned the poll.

KEY FINDINGS

§ Chavez has a higher favorable rating (33% favorable/12% unfavorable/50% no opinion or

never heard of) versus the other declared and potential candidates tested, which includes
Raul Peralez (18% favorable/5% unfavorable/71% never heard of or no opinion), Dev Davis
(14% favorable/7% unfavorable/73% never heard of or no opinion), and Matt Mahan (13%
favorable/4% unfavorable/76% never heard of or no opinion).
§ In an initial ballot matchup, Chavez is the only candidate who receives double digit
support. Without any information beyond the brief title that would appear on the ballot,
Chavez gets 23% of the vote, Peralez 7%, Mahan 5%, and Davis 4%, with 59% of voters
undecided. Chavez’ initial support is driven by Democrats and women ages 45 and over,
but she leads with most other key voting sub-groups as well.
§ After hearing each candidate’s bio, Chavez’ support increases to 36%, though others make
gains as well. Chavez gets 36%, Peralez 15%, Davis 15%, and Mahan 8%, with 25%
remaining undecided.
§ After testing positive and negative messages for each candidate, Chavez’ positive
messages had a greater impact than the positive messages tested for the other
candidates. Chavez moved up to 38%, Davis dropped to 10%, Peralez dropped to 8% and
Mahan’s support stayed relatively the same at 6%.

The survey indicates that Supervisor Chavez is strongly positioned in the mayoral election prior to her
potential entry into the race and announcement of any endorsements or fundraising efforts. Although, as
the last question indicates, 38% remain undecided, Chavez’s support from Democrats, Decline to
State/independent voters, and women aged 45 and older coupled with messaging about her experience
in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health issues and homelessness contribute to her lead in
this survey.

1
Methodology: June 28-July 1, 2021, New Bridge Strategy completed 400 interviews among registered likely voters in the City
of San Jose, CA. Interviews were conducted via telephone (landlines and cell phones). The margin of error for the full sample is
+/-4.95 percent; margins of sampling error for subgroups within the sample will be larger. Some percentages may sum to more
than 100 percent due to rounding.

New Bridge Strategy newbridgestrategy.com

Voters Have A Favorable Opinion of San Jose Police Officers
In addition to examining the mayoral race, the survey asked voters their opinion of San Jose police
officers. San Jose police officers hold a strong favorable rating with the voters. Sixty percent (60%)
of San Jose voters stated they had a favorable opinion of San Jose police officers, while 25% of
the voters had an unfavorable opinion (13% stated never heard of/no opinion).