Don Goldwater (center) files his nominating petitions.

Although he has yet to qualify for public campaign funding, Don Goldwater is leading the quartet of Republican candidates for governor, according to a recently released poll.
The Behavior Research Center reports Mr. Goldwater leads all GOP candidates among committed Republican voters and enjoys a two-to-one advantage over Len Munsil, his closest competitor.
According to the survey conducted between July 8 and July 21, 23 percent of the 251 Republicans responding said they would vote for Mr. Goldwater in the primary election, while 12 percent declared their intention to vote for Mr. Munsil. The poll, however, also found that 42 percent of Republicans surveyed are “unsure” of whom they would vote for, and 18 percent stated they would vote for “none” of the GOP candidates.
Two other candidates in the GOP primary, Mike Harris and Gary Tupper, received 3 percent and 2 percent approval, respectively. Both Mr. Harris and Mr. Tupper are running their campaigns with private funding, as is Libertarian candidate Barry Hess.
Mr. Goldwater’s campaign had collected about 4,800 $5 donations and signatures as of July 31, and they were being examined by the campaign committee to ensure validity, said Eric Johnson, the campaign’s communications director.
“We’re just making sure the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed,” he said, adding the committee was still collecting more qualifying donations before filing them with the Secretary of State’s Office.
Gubernatorial candidates must submit 4,200 contributions and signatures from registered voters to qualify for public campaign financing. The Citizens Clean Elections Commission recommends that candidates for governor submit 5,040 contributions and signatures in case some are invalidated.
A Valley political consultant said Mr. Goldwater enjoys name recognition from his famous uncle Barry Goldwater, and the name continually resonates from the Goldwater Institute and even Goldwater Boulevard in Scottsdale.
Paul Bentz of the consulting and lobbying group HighGound said name recognition is important, but at the “end of the day,” voters are also likely to become more aware of opposing candidates and their positions on issues.
“This last month (before primary elections in September) is very critical to bring up their name ID, voter base and their stance on the issues,” he said.
Earl de Berge of the Behavior Research Center said that Mr. Goldwater’s current advantage over other GOP gubernatorial candidates does not make him invincible, citing the large number of undecided Republican voters and early campaign successes of Mr. Munsil to elevate public awareness of his name.
“Mr. Munsil is an aggressive campaigner and a talented public figure,” Mr. de Berge said. “I wouldn’t put him out of the race by any stretch.”
The Munsil campaign committee says it is not fretting about the name advantage held by Mr. Goldwater or the results of the survey, said Vernon Parker, campaign communications director.
What needs to be understood is that Mr. Goldwater has had a year to collect the necessary signatures and contributions to qualify for public funding, which has still not been accomplished, he said.
“Even with the name Goldwater, he hasn’t been able to collect the signatures like Len Munsil did — in record time,” Mr. Parker said.
The Citizens Clean Elections Commission reports that Mr. Munsil qualified to receive $483,879 on May 5 for the September primary.
Regardless of which Republican emerges from the campaign, the victor would still be hard pressed to defeat Governor Napolitano, who is “dipping deeply” into the Republican and independent voting blocs, Mr. de Berge said. His study found that 58 percent of the 627 Arizonans surveyed would vote for Ms. Napolitano “if the election was held today.”
“At the moment, it is a big mountain to climb,” Mr. de Berge said. “She is enormously popular.”
Early voting for the Sept. 12 primary election begins Aug. 10, and the general election is Nov. 7.