A brand new poll by Pharos Research Group just out shows Congressman Bob Filner ahead of Councilman Carl DeMaio by 7 points.

According to the polling, 47.5% of likely voters in San Diego would vote for Filner and 40.7% are for DeMaio, with 11.9% undecided.

There was also good news for Filner in the polling of favorable / unfavorable numbers.  His favorable/unfavorables have improved from a week ago. His numbers come in at48.85/51.55 compared to 42.51/57.49, a week ago. Councilman DeMaio’s numbers come in at 35.31/64.69 compared to 37.75/62.25, a week ago.

Pharos Research Group did a live call poll of 708 likely voters in the City of San Diego from October 19, 2012 through October 21, 2012. The breakdown was 370men, 338 women, representing a 52.26/47.74% split. There were 319 self-identified Democrats, 265 self-identified Republicans and 124 Independents representing a 45/37/18 split, very nearly approximating the city’s party identification registration according to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.

In the San Diego Mayor’s race, 47.46% indicated a preference for United States Congressman Bob Filner, while 40.68% preferred City Councilman Carl DeMaio.11.86% of respondents indicated they were undecided.

In the San Diego Mayor’s race, on the other hand, Congressman Filner’s favorable/unfavorables have improved from a week ago. His numbers come in at48.85/51.55 compared to 42.51/57.49, a week ago. Councilman DeMaio’s numbers come in at 35.31/64.69 compared to 37.75/62.25, a week ago. This continues to suggest that San Diego voters’ dissatisfaction with their choices is the driving factor in the race for Mayor and that the 11.86% who remain undecided could be deciding who to vote on the basis of who they dislike less, a basis that would appear to favor Congressman Filner.

Presidential Poll Reflects Mayor’s Race

The numbers read like this: in the general election for President, 47.46% of respondents indicated an intention to vote for President Barack Obama, while40.68% indicated a preference for Republican nominee Willard “Mitt” Romney.

Looking at the favorable/unfavorable numbers on the Presidential side, San Diego voters appear to remain generally happy with the incumbent President who come sin at 52.82/47.18 while the challenger comes in at 46.61/53.39. These numbers are slightly worse for President Obama and slightly better for Governor Romney than they were a week ago. It would appear to be these favorable/unfavorables that are directly driving the ballot test result, which is slightly tighter than a week ago.

(Hat tip to Doug Porter – see his column here.)