The Syracuse mayoral candidates are Republican Laura Lavine, Democrat Juanita Perez Williams, Ben Walsh, who is running on the Independence, Reform and Upstate Jobs Party lines, and Howie Hawkins of the Green Party. They are shown at the mayoral debate hosted by Syracuse.com. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

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By Mark Weiner | mweiner@syracuse.com

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The four-person race for Syracuse mayor enters its final days with two candidates in a dead heat -- independent Ben Walsh and Democrat Juanita Perez Williams, according to a new Spectrum News/Syracuse.com/Siena College poll published Sunday.

The poll of likely Syracuse voters shows Walsh gained significant ground since October, when the poll showed Perez Williams held a 7-point lead, 35 percent to 28 percent.

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Mark Weiner | mweiner@syracuse.com

If the election for Syracuse mayor were held today, who would you vote for?

The Republican nominee, Laura Lavine (7 percent), and Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins (5 percent) continued to lag the frontrunners.

Joe Nicoletti, whose name is on the ballot under the Working Families Party even though he ended his campaign, still managed to receive support from 6 percent of likely voters.

The poll is the second independent survey to be made public in the general election campaign. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

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Mark Weiner | mweiner@syracuse.com

Breaking down support for the frontrunners by gender, race and age

The new poll shows Walsh made big gains since October among women voters and those over age 55.

Walsh now leads Perez Williams among likely women voters, 35-34 percent. In the October poll, Perez Williams led Walsh among women by 13 points, 38-25 percent.

Among those over age 55, Walsh now leads by 11 points, 40-29 percent. In October, Perez Williams led that reliable voting demographic over Walsh, 35-28 percent.

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Mark Weiner | mweiner@syracuse.com

Is the city of Syracuse on the right track or is it headed in the wrong direction?

The poll shows that Syracuse voters are still eager for change in a city that has struggled to overcome deep financial problems, decades of declining population and one of the highest poverty rates in the nation.

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Mark Weiner | mweiner@syracuse.com

As you consider your vote for mayor, which of the following matters most to you?

Syracuse voters are consistent with this point. They overwhelmingly said they will vote for the candidate most willing to make changes in the city.

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Mark Weiner | mweiner@syracuse.com

Of the following, which issue is the single most important you would like the new mayor to address first?

Likely voters in Syracuse's mayoral election say the economy and public safety are the most important issues they would like to see the next mayor address. Poverty was a close third.

In the October poll, public school performance ranked at the second most important issue (22 percent) but now only 14 percent say it is the most important issue.

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Mark Weiner | mweiner@syracuse.com

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable view of Juanita Perez Williams

Perez Williams is still viewed favorably by the majority of voters. But a larger percentage (32 percent) now view her unfavorably when compared to early October, when 23 percent viewed her unfavorably.

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Mark Weiner | mweiner@syracuse.com

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable view of Ben Walsh?

Walsh's rating soared since early October, when 52 percent viewed him favorably and 13 percent unfavorably. This happened as his name recognition increased. Now only 17 percent of voters don't have enough information about him to have an opinion; in October that figure was 35 percent.

Walsh, who will appear on the Independence Party and Reform Party ballot lines, had the highest favorability ratings among any candidate in the Syracuse mayor's race.

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Mark Weiner | mweiner@syracuse.com

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable view of Joe Nicoletti?

Even though he's not campaigning, Nicoletti's favorable rating increased by 13 percentage points since the October poll.

In the previous poll, Nicoletti was viewed favorably by 40 percent of Syracuse voters and unfavorably by 34 percent.

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Mark Weiner | mweiner@syracuse.com

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable view of Howie Hawkins?

Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate, saw his favorable rating (43 percent) increase 6 percentage points among Syracuse voters compared to the October poll, when he was viewed favorably by 37 percent of likely voters.

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Mark Weiner | mweiner@syracuse.com

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable view of Laura Lavine?

Republican Laura Lavine is the only candidate in the Syracuse mayor's race to be viewed more unfavorably by voters than favorably.

About 36 percent of voters say they never heard of Lavine, or don't know enough about Lavine to have an opinion. That's down from 55 percent last month.

As voters learned more about Lavine, her unfavorable rating increased from 27 percent in October to 38 percent this month.

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Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

How the poll was done

The Spectrum News/Syracuse.com/Siena College poll was conducted Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of last week by live operators who received responses from 620 likely Syracuse voters reached on landlines and cell phones. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

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More coverage on Syracuse's race for mayor

Poll: Mayor's race neck-and-neck as Walsh makes gains on Perez Williams

Perez Williams: I drove everyone nuts at City Hall but got the job done

Ben Walsh walks tightrope, balancing Republican name while luring Democrats

How Laura Lavine, critic of Syracuse grad rate, did as rural superintendent

Watch the videos: Syracuse.com mayoral debate, post-debate discussion

Video: Juanita Perez Williams answers questions about her campaign for mayor

Video: Ben Walsh answers questions about his campaign for mayor

Video: Laura Lavine answers questions about her campaign for mayor

Video: Howie Hawkins answer questions about his campaign for mayor

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Contact Mark Weiner anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751