The first internal poll of the Pittsburgh mayoral primary comes from incumbent Mayor Bill Peduto.  It shows Peduto with 57% support among likely Democratic primary voters.  City Councilwoman Darlene Harris had 10% and Rev. John Welch had 8%.  

The poll has 68% of respondents saying the city in heading in the right direction.  According to the poll, Peduto’s job performance and voters opinions of him are equally high.  63% approve of the job he is doing, and 74% have a positive opinion of Peduto.  Harris has a 31% favorable rating and a 17% unfavorable rating., Welch had an 18% favorable rating.  

The poll was a survey of 400 likely Democratic primary voters by Lake Research Partners from February 27th through March 1st via phone calls.  Lake Research is a progressive research firm based out of Washington, D.C.  The release did not say how the voters were chosen or what questions were asked.  

As with any internal poll, its results should be taken with a grain of salt. Campaigns typically commission a comprehensive poll and publicly release only the most favorable results.

Internal polls like this early in a campaign are often used to reassure donors, and to scare off challengers by showing strong support from likely voters.

The polling memo is below:

LRP Polling Memo 3-3-17 by Paul Engelkemier on Scribd