While extreme leftist Gustavo Petro continues to lead national polls for the 2018 presidency in Colombia, a new poll conducted in the more conservative state of Antioquia reveals that Sergio Fajardo is the state’s first preference. In the poll, Fajardo, an independent and the former governor of Antioquia, received 26.9% of the support, followed by conservative candidate Martha Lucía Ramirez with 18.8%. Ex-vice president German Vargas comes in at a distant third with 9.6%.
The poll also analyzed preferences among the Centro Democrático party candidates, the party founded by popular former president and current senator Alvaro Uribe. That poll found that 24.3% of respondants favored Senator Iván Duque, followed by Carlos Holmes Trujillo with 11.3%, Paloma Valencia with 7.7%, and Senator María del Rosario Guerra along with Rafael Nieto, tied with a preference of 6.3%.
Outside of presidential preferences, the poll also asked respondants which politician they respect and identify with the most. The clear victor was Álvaro Uribe with a 47.4%, followed by Gustavo Petro with a 12%.
Antioquia is a critical state in Colombian presidential elections, thus these results would make Sergio Fajardo an early favorite in the forthcoming election.
According to election rules, if a single candidate does not receive 50% of the vote on the first ballot, a run-off election is conducted between the top two candidates. The early favorites to make the run-off are Fajardo and Petro.
