MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum leads the contest to be a candidate for Mexico’s ruling party in the 2024 presidential election, a survey published on Wednesday showed, while another poll put her in a virtual dead heat but advancing.
A survey by polling firm Buendia & Marquez for newspaper El Universal showed Sheinbaum winning 34% support to be the nominee of the leftist National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), followed by former Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard at 22%.
A separate study by pollster GEA-ISA showed Sheinbaum with 39% support and Ebrard on 38%. A previous survey in March by the firm had put Ebrard ahead on 36% and Sheinbaum on 31%.
The company’s latest poll of 1,070 adults also showed Sheinbaum had the more positive image of the two rivals.
MORENA, lifted by the strong personal approval ratings of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is heavily favored to win the June 2024 election. That has prompted many analysts to view the MORENA contest as an almost de facto presidential race.
Lopez Obrador cannot run again because Mexican law restricts presidents to a single six-year-term.
A Buendia & Marquez survey published last month showed Sheinbaum polling at 32% support and Ebrard at 23% on the question of who should be the MORENA candidate.
The company’s latest poll of 1,000 adults showed Ebrard was the best-known candidate, being recognized by 71% of respondents, while Sheinbaum was familiar to 66%.
Ebrard was also more popular among respondents who identified with the opposition.
Both resigned from their positions earlier this month to compete in the race. A winner is due to be announced on Sept. 6.
MORENA’s internal campaign formally kicked off on June 19.
Sheinbaum and Ebrard have long been favorites for the MORENA ticket. The Buendia & Marquez poll showed the next-best-placed candidate, former Interior Minister Adan Augusto Lopez, had 8% support, along with veteran leftist Gerardo Fernandez Norona.
Some 16% of respondents gave no definitive answer.
The pollster’s face-to-face voter survey was carried out June 22-26 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.53 percentage points. The GEA-ISA poll was conducted June 16-22 with a 3 percentage point margin of error.
(Writing by Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Mark Porter and Leslie Adler)
