These are numbers from the "for what it's worth department," but they offer a peek into a specific subset of voters who were surveyed by Erie County Republicans for Tuesday's Independence Party primary for county executive between Republican Chris Collins and Independence member Richard L. Woll.
GOP sources say a "voter ID" survey of 1,500 Independence members shows Collins in good shape for the primary. But they also tested Independence members on the Republican-Democrat contest, and the results show Collins leading Democrat Mark C. Poloncarz by a tally of 52 to 26 percent -- a two-to-one bulge.
The Republican sources say the Independence primary is a "nuisance contest" sponsored by local Democrats with ties to the minor party, but also point out that Independence primaries often act as a harbinger of things to come.
--Robert J. McCarthy
