Republican Carl DeMaio continues to hold a slim lead over incumbent Democratic Rep. Scott Peters in the 52nd Congressional District race, according to a 10News/U-T San Diego poll released Tuesday.
But when the margin of error is factored in, it's a statistical tie between the two former San Diego city councilmen. About $10 million has been spent so far on the race.
SurveyUSA, which conducted the poll from Friday to Monday, said 89 percent of the interviews for the survey were done after sexual harassment claims were made against DeMaio by a former campaign staff member. Eleven percent of the interviews were conducted after it was announced Monday that no criminal charges would be filed against him.
The poll showed 46 percent would vote for DeMaio and 45 percent would choose Peters, with 10 percent undecided. The margin of error is 4.1 percentage points.
When asked who is most trustworthy, 46 percent chose Peters and 43 percent DeMaio. That's a change from the Oct. 7 SurveyUSA poll when 48 percent said DeMaio was most trustworthy compared to 44 percent for Peters.
Among male voters, DeMaio leads by 7 percentage points; among independent voters, DeMaio leads Peters by 16 points.
SurveyUSA interviewed 650 registered voters in the 52nd District, and 608 said they would likely vote on or prior to the Nov. 4 election.
DeMaio served on the San Diego City Council from 2008 to 2012. He ran for mayor in 2013 but lost to then-Rep. Bob Filner, who later resigned amid a sexual harassment scandal.
Peters served two four-year terms on the City Council from 2000 to 2008. Upon terming out, he served on the Port of San Diego Board of Commissioners before winning a House seat in 2012. He defeated incumbent Republican Brian Bilbray in a tight race.
