Who wins may depend on how well the top five candidates turn out their base of support. Six days before one of the most unusual mayoral elections in years, even the candidates aren't sure where they stand with voters. There are too many variables. Taxes and crime are down.
Voters are generally content and paying little attention to the race.
With less than 30 percent of the city's voters expected to go to the polls Tuesday, any two of the top five candidates could advance to the March 27 general election. It could take as little as winning 25 percent of the vote to make the cut. Each of the leading candidates has a geographic or philosophical base of support. How well they turn out that support, and poach from the bases of their opponents, will swing a tight race. Of the nine candidates for mayor, Rick Baker should win one of the two spots, conventional wisdom says.