Poll: San Antonio Councilman John Courage is frontrunner in mayor’s race — well, sort of.

District 9 City Councilman John Courage appears to have an early lead in the race to replace termed-out San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg.

That is, if one can be said to leading with the support of just 9% of Bexar County’s registered voters. That’s the share who plan to vote for Courage in May’s mayoral election, according to a poll the University of San Antonio’s Center for Public Opinion Research released Monday.

It may not seem like much, but it’s more than any other candidate.

A whopping 43% of the 692 registered Bexar County voters surveyed by UTSA said they don’t even know who’s running. Another 26% said they aren’t sure who they’re voting for.

Tech entrepreneur Beto Altamirano and District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez tied for second place, each garnering 5% in the survey. District 4 Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia came in third with 4% support.

Although the numbers suggest the mayoral race is still wide open, respondents seemed to have stronger opinions on a slate of potential changes to the city charter.

More than half said they plan to vote against an amendment that would give council members a $24,500 annual pay raise.

Those surveyed were evenly split on whether to increase council members’ terms from two years to four. According to USTA, 42% said they support the measure, while 43% plan to vote against it.

Additionally, 49% of respondents said they approve of outgoing Mayor Nirenberg’s job performance.

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This article appears in Sep 18-24, 2024.