Data from a just released poll finds that, the outcome of the Casey Anthony trial could play a major role in who is the next State Attorney in Orange/Osceola County.
Conducted by the Maitland-based Kitchens Group, the survey results show Jeff Ashton, one of the candidates in the race and a key member of the Anthony prosecution team, leading incumbent Lawson Lamar by 11 points.
The poll which interviewed some 400 likely Democratic Primary voters in Orange and Osceola Counties, shows Ashton with a 57% favorable and 24% unfavorable rating. By comparison Lamar has a 46% favorability and 31% unfavorable rating among voters polled. Ashton, who starts the race with an 11 point lead over Lamar, leads in every major subgroup in the electorate, the poll revealed.
“This shows Lawson Lamar is extremely vulnerable,” said Jim Kitchens, founder of the Kitchens Group, a well-known Central Florida political pollster. “Jeff Ashton is certainly a candidate who can win this race.”
The poll found the outcome of the Casey Anthony case remains of interest to voters, with 70 percent unconvinced that justice was done and the verdict rendered, the correct one.
Ashton, with thirty years as a prosecutor in Orlando/Orange County, shot to national prominence during the trial of Anthony, the Orlando mother accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter and who was later acquitted.
According to the survey results, respondents believe by a margin of four to one, Lamar is primarily to blame for the incorrect verdict, as Anthony was charged with first degree murder and the death penalty was sought, as opposed to Ashton, who presented the case against her.
There are two other contenders in the race for State Attorney – former prosecutor Ryan Williams and longtime defense lawyer Joerg Jaeger of the Orlando law firm Jaeger & Blankner, also a former prosecutor.
Respondents were interviewed in a random sample during the period April 18-26, and the poll has a margin of error of +/-4.9 percent.
