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Posted: 1:07 PM- Jim Winder, the Democratic challenger for Salt Lake County Sheriff, has a 17-point lead over four term GOP incumbent Aaron Kennard, according to a new poll conducted for The Salt Lake Tribune.

Winder, who trailed the sheriff by 30 percentage points one month ago, is favored by 51 percent of county voters compared to 34 percent for Kennard. Fifteen percent are undecided.

In the District Attorney's race, Republican Lohra Miller holds a narrow edge, 36 to 34 percent over Democrat Sim Gill - a statistical dead heat. The poll shows a substantial amount - 26 percent - still are undecided in the election to replace retiring D.A. David Yocom.

In the County Council at-large contest, Democratic incumbent Jim Bradley leads Republican challenger Janice Auger 37 percent to 32 percent, with 27 percent undecided.

The poll, conducted Oct. 30 through Nov. 1 by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, surveyed 470 voters and has a 4.5 percentage point margin of error.

Since the beginning, polls have shown the District Attorney's race has been a virtual toss-up. Both candidates say they are not surprised that trend has continued.

"That's about as tight as it can be, isn't it?" Gill said. "We're hearing back that I'm the only one who has handled serious crime. Ultimately, voters will decide who is going to run this office in an ethical and responsible way. We're getting positive feedback." Miller said the poll numbers were about what she expected.

"We've known all along it would be a close race and we'd have to work hard," she said. "We still have a lot of work ahead of us over the next four days." The reaction was different from Winder, a longtime deputy in the sheriff's office, who contends Kennard is out of touch after 16 years on the job.

"Wow," he said about the 17-point advantage in the poll. "Needless to say, I'm very encouraged." The sheriff's race turned personal after stories broke chronicling Kennard's weekday golf habit, according to tallies of the days he plays 18-hole rounds and his scores, which are posted on the Utah Golf Association Web site. Kennard took offense at Winder's suggestion that golf interfered with his job performance, noting he always is available by cell phone, pager or radio and has been called off the course for emergencies.

Kennard could not be reached Friday for comment on the poll.

"We're certainly not going to take anything for granted," Winder said. "We're going to push as hard as we can through Tuesday. But we're excited that voters are seemingly headed our way." Since a poll in late September, the margin between Bradley and Auger has narrowed, which both said they expected.

"I knew it was going to be a tight race," Bradley said. "Five percent is a nice, healthy lead this late in the game. I attribute that to people knowing my name and knowing my record and being comfortable with both." Auger says she knew she had strengths and could mobilize voters, but that her attitude has always remained the same.

"I've been the underdog from day one," she said. "I'm staying on message. I'm working hard. On Nov. 8, I'll go on with my life." djensen@sltrib.com" Target="_BLANK">djensen@sltrib.com