Poll: Akshar Has Wide Lead Over Fiala

A poll of likely voters in the 52nd New York State Senate District shows Republican Fred Akshar with a big lead over Democrat Barbara Fiala.

The Time Warner Cable News/Siena College survey indicated 59 percent of those who expressed a preference said they would vote for Akshar if the election was held today. 31 percent said they would vote for Fiala.

Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said Fiala has a two-to-one lead (60 to 28 percent) among Democrats. But Akshar has an 84 to 9 percent lead among Republicans and a 61 to 27 percent lead among independent voters.

The Senate seat became vacant in July when Thomas Libous, a Republican who had been deputy majority leader, was convicted of a felony for lying to the FBI. The special election will be held on November 3.

The telephone survey was conducted between September 21 and September 24 with calls to 535 "likely voters." The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

A POLITCO New York analysis of filings submitted to the Federal Communications Commission by Binghamton television stations showed Akshar has outspent Fiala on campaign commercials.

According to the reports, Akshar has been billed $138,780 for 1,584 spots while Fiala had spent $39,775 for 414 commercials.

For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.