"Poll: Mallahan, McGinn tied in mayor's race" (Updated)

UPDATE: Joel Connelly manages to connect the Seattle mayor's race to health care reform: "Reform health care and replace the viaduct."

Chris Grygiel, Strange Bedfellows-seattlepi.com:

The latest KING5/SurveyUSA poll shows that Seattle mayoral candidates Joe Mallahan and Mike McGinn are tied.

The survey has Mallahan at 38 percent, McGinn at 38 percent and a whopping 24 percent undecided.

Two weeks ago the same poll showed T-Mobile executive Mallahan slightly ahead of McGinn, an attorney and environmentalist.

The most recent sampling shows momentum for McGinn.

The former Sierra Club leader does very well with young people, taking the 18-34 demographic by a 47 percent to 28 percent margin. He has extended his lead among young people by 13 points from the last poll.

Mallahan does better with older people. He wins among people 50 and above 45-31. That's good news for Mallahan as older people tend to be more reliable voters than younger people.

McGinn wins among Democrats 42-35 (Mallahan had led before) while Mallahan takes Republicans 49-36. He had previously been ahead by 21 points among GOPers. Mallahan is favored by Independents 41-30.

The survey of 611 likely voters was taken Sept. 26-28 and has a margin of error of 4 percent.

Since the poll two weeks ago McGinn has released a series of position papers on subjects ranging from public safety to nightlife and the environment. Mallahan, too, has been articulating his views on subjects but McGinn seems to be directing the conversation more than his opponent, which may account for some of the movement in the polling.

The upcoming televised debates will be key for both candidates.