New poll puts Ducey in the lead, inspires fake Twitter account

Survey/research firm Magellan Strategies has released a poll putting the Cold Stone Creamery founder with 27 percent of registered Republicans likely to vote in the August primary saying they would back Ducey.

Secretary of State Ken Bennett came in second with 13 percent, followed by former GoDaddy executive Christine Jones and former Mesa Mayor Scott Smith tied with 12 percent.

Saddlebrooke Republican Sen. Al Melvin would get 6 percent if the election was held today. 

Conservative Leadership for Arizona Chairman Amanda Reeve said the poll shows Ducey is the front runner in a crowded field of GOP candidates wanting to be the state's next governor.

“Poll results confirm that Arizonans identify with Doug Ducey’s entrepreneurial spirit and his commitment to leading Arizona into a new era of prosperity,” said Reeve.

The press release also quotes political strategist and CLA consultant Sean Noble predicting Ducey's numbers will climb in the coming weeks.

The automated telephone poll had a margin of error of 3.55 percent, according to Magellan Strategies. 

But the poll has drawn criticism, inspiring the creation of a fake Twitter account - @DuceysFakePoll.

The account, with an ice cream cone as an avatar, states "I'm just like a poll, except fake. And man, do I love me some Doug Ducey."

Posts are a mix of political criticism and sarcasm.

For example:

"Our fake poll also ranks ice cream super high, way over brownies as Arizona's favorite dessert."

Magellan Strategies has been criticized for one of their previous polls, winning the "Agony of Defeat" award from the Denver Post for putting former Denver mayor John Hickenlooper in a statistical dead heat with Rep. Tom Tancredo in the 2010 Colorado gubenatorial race.

Hickenlooper, a Democrat won 51 percent of the vote on election day, while Tancredo (running as a Constitution Party nominee) got roughly 36 percent.